legacies
The first Play in the Shade project was completed at Azle Christian School last year.
Brandi’s Play in the Shade By Randy Keck
The Community News
B
randi Dickie loved life. She loved the beach, kids, her dog. And she loved to travel.
“She was very laid back,” said her mom, Paula Pittsinger. “She was non-materialistic, just loved everybody.” Brandi fought hard for five years but eventually lost to melanoma that had spread to her brain — at age 29. “We found out later a lot of it, they think, was due to tanning beds and an overexposure 60 2022
to the sun,” Paula said. One of the things Brandi wanted her survivors to do was start a foundation to cover playgrounds. Although it took a while to get started, the foundation is up and running. “She passed away in ‘14 and then in ‘15 I established the foundation (Brandi’s Play in the Shade Foundation),” Paula said. “I’d established a foundation and then I didn’t do anything with it. I guess I wasn’t ready.” Then one day in 2019, Paula was talking to her son and daughter-in-law. They felt it Your Parker County
Brandi Dickey is the namesake of a foundation dedicated to minimizing melanoma risks in children.
www.yourparkercounty.com
