January 15, 2025 by Kristin O’Brien (courtesy photos)
You don’t have to have a student at East Elementary to know the name Brian DeMarco. The fourth-grade teacher has contributed to and enriched the town to such an extent that he has become a widely-valued part of the Hingham community.
Now, as he faces unimaginable personal loss, our community is rallying around him to support him, just as he has always supported us.
Support for the DeMarco Family
In May of 2022, Mr. DeMarco’s wife, Pam, was diagnosed with Stage 4 Uveal Melanoma, an extremely aggressive form of cancer. It was quickly discovered that the cancer had metastasized in her liver. Uveal Melanoma does not respond to traditional treatment such as chemotherapy, but luckily, Mrs. DeMarco qualified for numerous treatments, which she underwent for nearly three years. Many of the treatments were rigorous, requiring constant medical visits and periodic hospitalizations. She also had to undergo numerous surgeries to address the grueling side effects of the cancer and treatments. Despite the treatments, the cancer continued to spread and, on January 9th, Mrs. DeMarco passed, surrounded by Mr. DeMarco and their children.
The DeMarcos have four children. Their youngest son, Alex, is disabled and has significant special needs. Alex has cerebral palsy and oftentimes requires the use of a wheelchair. He was born with severe cognitive delay as well as cortical vision impairment, and as such, requires assistance with basic needs such as eating and dressing himself. Alex is also non-verbal autistic. He currently attends a specialized school where they have been working with him on communicating using an iPad, and he has made a lot of progress. Because of Alex’s disabilities and special needs, he requires a significant amount of specialized care, both at school and at home, much of which Mrs. DeMarco previously provided.
Mr. DeMarco has given so much to our community. In response to the tragic news of Mrs. DeMarco’s passing, many people have been asking how they can now support him. Mr. DeMarco derives so much joy in hearing from families and former students. If you would like to reach out to Mr. DeMarco to give your condolences or offer kind words of encouragement, you can drop a card at East’s front office, or mail or drop a card c/o Kristin O’Brien at 5 Maryknoll Drive, Hingham, MA 02043. It would mean the world to him to hear from all of the people whose lives he has touched.
Additionally, as you can imagine, the impact of years of medical treatments and the complications that come along with them can be financially devastating. Family friends of the DeMarcos have set up a fund to support the DeMarco family, helping with medical expenses and child care. If you can, please consider donating to the cause through the link below, and share this information with anyone you think may be moved to donate as well.
Fundraiser by Karen Smith : Pamela’s Journey: A Family’s Struggle
Hingham has been so lucky to have Mr. DeMarco to inspire our kids and shape our community. Let’s all now come together to support this amazing man and his family during this tragic time.
Mr. DeMarco’s Impact on Our Community
Despite dealing with significant personal challenges at home, Mr. DeMarco has always gone above and beyond for our kids and for our community. He is the sort of teacher who makes a huge impact on students. Caitlin Fahey, who has worked closely with Mr. DeMarco for years, says, “There is no limit to what Brian will do to help a child. By prioritizing relationships, he makes it a point to connect with each student and their family on a personal level. It’s not unusual for Brian to receive heartfelt correspondence years after a student has graduated, even if they were never in his class.”
In addition to using his enthusiasm and ingenuity to inspire a love of learning in every student who enters his classroom, he regularly makes time on his nights and weekends to lend support to his students outside of the classroom by attending students’ games and activities. Sarah Cincotta’s daughter, Lucy, was one of the students lucky enough to experience the magic of Mr. DeMarco’s classroom. “Mr. DeMarco is such a bright spot in our children’s days – and in so many of ours. He makes learning a joyful experience for our children by fully engaging in the things they love. There aren’t many teachers who would willingly (and enthusiastically!) let a student teach them how to do a cartwheel—much less give it multiple tries! It’s the little things like this – lessons in staying positive, showing up for each other, and embracing challenges – that will stick with these kids for years to come.”
Oftentimes students have made such a connection with Mr. DeMarco that they stay in touch with him long after they have left the classroom. Lorna Newman’s son, Andy, has continued to have a close relationship with him even after he has moved on to middle school. “Andy loved to share his rap songs with Mr. DeMarco, who gave him a book on rhymes and suggested artists he could listen to. He would give feedback, encouragement, and his time, well outside of school hours, and years after his last day in a class with Mr. DeMarco. Andy created a shared Google doc with Mr. DeMarco where he would write his songs and ask for feedback – which Mr. DeMarco gave. I went back and reread the songs and notes written over the years and again, I was just blown away. Each note, thoughtful, kind and truly meaningful. The date stamps on some of those notes, over the summer, late at night or early in the morning – he continued to show up, teach, and inspire.”
In addition to his dedication to his students, Mr. DeMarco puts in the extra effort to make a difference for East School in general. During the pandemic, he created the silly character of “Professor Quarantine” and sent videos to the whole student body to help kids deal with the stress of remote schooling. He is a staple scooping ice cream at East’s Ice Cream Social night, judges the HEF Spelling Bee, and is a highlight of Field Day, singing in the talent show and running with the students through the fire truck hose spray. Mr.DeMaro was the instrumental force pushing his students to strive to exceed several goals to ultimately reach an impressive target of making over a million Reflex Math points. Not only did Mr. DeMarco’s encouragement propel his students to achieve this milestone, which no other class at East had ever met before, but he organized a celebration for them. The challenge was so enticing that the next year, the fourth-graders met the same goal. This is just one example of how Mr. DeMarco has a talent for inspiring kids to reach their highest potential.
Mr. DeMarco not only enriches the East community, but Hingham in general. For the past two years, he has spearheaded a district-wide fundraiser where fourth-graders from each of the elementary schools work together to conduct chores, run lemonade and craft stands, organize neighborhood camps, as well as other creative initiatives, to raise money for a school that was burnt down in the wildfires in Maui and students from a town that was devastated by Hurricane Helene. This innovative initiative not only taught the students a valuable lesson about philanthropy, but brought students from different Hingham schools together to work for a united cause. Susan Willison, a teacher at PRS who worked with Mr. DeMarco on these projects, says that she feels lucky to have him as a colleague. “He goes above and beyond to help our Hingham students become good citizens by creating opportunities for them to think and act outside of our community.”
Mr. DeMarco is a wonderful teacher, but the most important thing he has done for our children is model to them what it means to be a kind and compassionate person, dedicated to helping everyone around them feel special and cared for. My greatest hope from my childrens’ time with Mr. DeMarco is that they go out into the world and emulate him. He is truly one of the best humans I have ever known and I cannot think of anyone more deserving of our support during an unimaginably difficult time.
