Kelsey Grace Endicott

SALEM, Mass. — Stories about the deadly opiate epidemic are all over the news. On Thursday, it was a pair of stories written in two Massachusetts families’ own words that further highlighted the grimness of the crisis.

The obituaries of Brian Murphy and Joshua Gauthier both included the fact that they died after struggling with substance abuse. Murphy, 25, and Gauthier, 35, both lived in Salem, north of Boston, and died on Sunday, April 17. 

Obituaries of young people traditionally say only that the person “died unexpectedly.” But Marion Tina, Murphy’s mother, said she didn’t want to hide the true reason for her son’s death. She decided to include her son’s addiction disease in his obituary, she said, in the hope that it will help other families facing the same problem.

“My broken heart’s not going to be healed, but it will make me feel better if somebody else doesn’t have to suffer like I am right now,” Tina said.

Murphy’s obituary said he had been battling addiction for five years and was “part of a generation that is disappearing before our eyes.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014, the year with the most recent data, more than 1,200 people died of opioid overdoses in Massachusetts. More than 10,000 died specifically of heroin overdoses across the United States that year. 

“If you or your loved one suffer from the disease of addiction, please reach out for help,” the Murphy’s obituary said. “You matter. You are worth it. You deserve to live a long, beautiful life. Brian never will, and that is so sad for him and the family and friends who loved him so much.”

Gauthier, who is survived by his three children, also struggled with substance abuse, according to his obituary. He was described as a “caring, generous and dedicated father” who ultimately lost his battle with addiction.

“He is now another heartbreaking reminder of the growing heroin epidemic in this country,” the obituary said.

Jennifer Gauthier Romano, Joshua’s sister, said she decided to specify his substance abuse in the obituary because heroin deaths can no longer “go unnoticed.”

Earlier this month, the obituary of 23-year-old Kelsey Grace Endicott, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who also died of a drug overdose, went viral. 

Endicott’s family, like Murphy’s and Gauthier’s decided to use her death as a way to try to save others from the same fate.

Endicott, a Haverhill resident, died on April 2 from an accidental overdose, according to her obituary. In the obituary, her parents, Kathleen and Paul Errico of Haverhill, talked openly about the disease of addiction being a “merciless” one.

The obituary and other information about Endicott’s death went viral on social media.

Endicott left behind a 2-year-old son, Camden Endicott, and many other relatives in the area. Kathleen Errico also posted a eulogy on Facebook in which she explains how opiates can sneak into someone’s life.

“To the person who doesn’t understand addiction, she is just another statistic who chose to make a bad decision,” Errico wrote. “A very uneducated statement indeed, but nonetheless that is what they will say along with some other very hurtful statements. I don’t care though, because for the people who do understand, this was our baby, our youngest, our child, our daughter and, as a mother, my everything. She was a mother, a sister, an auntie, a niece, a granddaughter, a friend, a cousin, a human being and an addict.”

Errico said that when she wrote Kelsey’s obituary, her intention was to tell the truth in the hope that maybe it could help even just one other person. 

“I was also told her obituary has been shared over 50,000 times because it has gone viral,” Errico wrote. “My plan worked and my baby girl may not be here physically, but she is working miracles from Heaven and as her mother I couldn’t be more proud.” 

Romano and Tina, Murphy’s mother, both said there needs to be better access to treatment, and the elimination of the stigma of addiction that keeps many victims and their families silent. They’re hoping their honesty about the reason behind their loved ones’ deaths will play at least a small role in that effort.

“When you see these obituaries and you see that men and women in their late 20s and early 30s ‘died unexpectedly’. . . It’s not unexpectedly,” she said. “There’s so many people hurt and so many people left behind. It’s important for people to know.”

Details for this story were reported by Paul Leighton, The Salem News and Mike LaBella The Eagle-Tribune.