NAUGATUCK — Hundreds of people attended a pasta dinner fundraiser for a beloved Naugatuck woman Sunday in what friends and family say is a testament to the type of woman she is.
The event raised thousands of dollars to offset medical expenses for Debbie Lennon, 57, who has been battling a brain tumor for 16 years. It has gotten worse in the past few years, forcing Lennon to retire early from the job she loved at Ion Bank in the Mountview Plaza shopping center here.
Her former colleagues, her longtime friends, her family members and people who came in contact with her in everyday life in the borough paid $20 for a ticket or helped dish out food in the church hall at St. Michael’s Church on the Green for five hours Sunday evening.
“I think this says a lot about growing up in Naugatuck and knowing people your whole life and having support from the community,” said her son, Michael Lennon. “It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you’ve seen somebody — people always come back and help you out.”
Those people include Michael Lennon’s childhood friend, Eric Levesque, who attended the event Sunday.
“Debbie is a great person,” Levesque said. “It’s tough to see her like this, but she is very brave and strong and has a lot of support behind her with her husband, friends and family.”
Debbie Lennon worked as a bank teller at Ion Bank for several years before the tumor began to affect her balance, her short-term memory and her concentration. She loved the job and interacting with people. Several of her former customers attended the event Sunday.
Marc Lennon, her other son, said he was overwhelmed with the amount of people who attended.
“Friends, people who didn’t even know her … a variety of people are here,” he said. “It’s more than we ever expected.”
Michael Lennon said his mother is feeling great, and that despite the difficult time she is experiencing, he believes she is going to pull through it.
“She has a lot of people praying for her,” he said. “I can’t walk down the street without someone telling me the impact my mother has had on their life.”
An online fundraiser on the website Go Fund Me has been set up for Debbie Lennon. The page can be navigated at Go Fund Me: Our Love for Debbie or at www.gofundme.com/dflnpg.
