Cumberland,

Kristie DiSalvo Velarde, 46, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, after a year-long battle with breast cancer surrounded by her family. She was a loving mother, wife, sister, daughter, and a kind friend to all who knew her. Kristie always found ways to make those around her feel special. She was the first to celebrate the wins and the one we turned to during times of struggle. Her love, encouragement, and creative thinking always helped fuel change for the better.  She was truly an angel on earth who has found her wings.

She married her soulmate Lawrence Velarde in May 2010, and they have two beautiful children, Caleb and Lila. A Rhode Island native, Kristie and Larry spent much of their married life in Boston and moved to Cumberland, RI eight years ago. She was the daughter of Ronald and Nancy (Raiche) DiSalvo of Cumberland. She was a loving sister to Peter DiSalvo of San Diego and Jenny (DiSalvo) Force and Jeremy Force of North Carolina.

She built a successful career as a senior executive in Public Relations and Communications at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Denterlein in Boston. She cherished her time with family and friends. She looked forward to exploring the world through travel and food, dancing to great music with her girlfriends, and filling her home with love and laughter over the holidays.

In her younger years, she was an avid hiker spending summers trekking the White Mountains of New Hampshire and was a skilled tennis player. Her favorite way to spend her weekends was watching her children play football, baseball, and softball. She was their biggest and proudest fan and will continue to be so from heaven.

As an active and involved parishioner at St. Aidan's, she used her technical skills to redesign the church website as well as volunteer in the CCD program. During the week, the neighborhood kids flocked to her house knowing the door was always open and fun was to be had.

While we will continue celebrating Kristie's life daily, we are also on a mission to share her story. She was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer just over a year ago. It is important to know that mammograms do not catch 100% of breast cancers, especially in those with dense breast tissue. Advocating for additional screening with either an MRI or ultrasound is usually best. Please talk to your doctor, your friends, and read Kristie's story . We hope it encourages others to insist on additional screening before it's too late.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to Kristie's Life Celebration beginning with Visiting Hours on Monday, November 14, 2022, from 9 AM to 11 AM at the J. J. Duffy Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Road Cumberland. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 12 PM at St. Aidan - St. Patrick Parish, 1460 Diamond Hill Road Cumberland. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, 261 W Wrentham Rd, Cumberland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation , a nonprofit organization committed to curing breast cancer by providing critical funding for breast cancer research.

Online memorial: jjduffyfuneralhome.com