Kerin Francis Brodie of Harwich died on June 5, 2024 at Mass. General Hospital in Boston from complications of sarcoidosis. She was 56.

Kerin was born in Hyannis on March 24, 1968 to Janet (Russe) Francis and the late Leonard “Mikey” Francis Jr. She spent her earliest years in Provincetown before moving to a house on Village Lane in Wellfleet when she was eight.

Her brother, Jeff, recalled watching MTV with Kerin when MTV played actual music videos, and because they lived across the street from the drive-in, they sometimes sneaked in to watch a movie on the big screen.

Kerin attended elementary school in Wellfleet and Eastham and had a wide circle of friends. “Everybody loved her,” said Jeff. “She always had a smile on her face.” She graduated from Nauset High School in 1986.

She married Rob Brodie in the early 1990s and devoted herself to rearing her four children.

When the youngest were in high school, she and Rob divorced, and she began working as an educational assistant at Wellfleet Elementary School. After four years, she took a similar position at Eastham Elementary School, until her illness surfaced in 2020 and accelerated during the pandemic, forcing her to retire in 2022.

Sarcoidosis is a rare autoimmune disease that is poorly understood. In some cases it simply disappears; for others, it’s a chronic condition, and for some it is deadly. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the cause of sarcoidosis is unknown, and its treatment can include physical therapy, medications, and organ transplant, but there is no cure.

After her diagnosis, Kerin did what she could to support and encourage others with the disease. She maintained an Instagram page that chronicled her experience. In her case, the disease attacked her lungs and heart, and death came suddenly.

In happier times, Kerin had a deep love for the beach, especially her “happy place,” Long Point in Provincetown, where she and Eddie, her partner after her divorce, enjoyed trips on his boat, searching for sea glass and relaxing on the beach. She kept the sea glass on display at her home, Jeff said, “hoping one day to turn it into art.”

Kerin is survived by her four children, Tyler Brodie and wife Nicole of Derby, Vt. and Trevan, Anna-Mae, and Grace Brodie of Brewster, and their father, Rob Brodie of Harwich. She also leaves her brother, Jeff Francis of Ashby, her partner Edward Hall of Harwich, her cousin, who was more like a sister to her, Kelly Callahan of Enfield, Conn., her nephews Liam and Michael Francis of Plaistow, N.H., and her aunt and uncle Jane and Don Cavanaugh of East Longmeadow, in addition to many other cousins and friends.

A celebration of Kerin’s life will be held on July 20 at the Chatham VFW, 150 George Rider Road, from 1 to 4 p.m. Burial will be private.

Donations in Kerin’s memory can be made to the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research at stopsarcoidosis.com/donate.