NORFOLK, Va. — A beloved Norfolk artist has lost her battle with breast cancer.
Kim Keene was first diagnosed with cancer in 2017. She had been doing better until it came back about two years ago.
Doctors diagnosed her with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
Watch: Norfolk artist battling Stage 4 breast cancer creates nonprofit to help patients
Keene was not just an artist. She was also the business owner of Starving Artist Café on Colley Avenue. However, she had to sell it when she got sick again.
It was inside that café that News 3 reporter Angela Bohon talked with Keene’s partner and her friends about keeping her memory alive, as well as the mission of her non-profit organization, Paint Pink.
Paint Pink offsets costs not covered by insurance for those battling cancer like Keene did.
Watch: Norfolk artist battling Stage 4 breast cancer, raising thousands of dollars for breast cancer awareness
“When you’re sick and you’re struggling, you don’t want to have to go in the kitchen and prepare a meal for your family or try to get your kids to school or cut your grass. You need to focus on healing,” said acting president of Paint Pink, Jo Hughes.
Nicole Carry, Keene’s partner, said, “The outpouring is amazing. We’re all kind of talking about how it’s believable but at the same time, it’s unbelievable that she’s even gone.”
Keene leaves behind two teenage sons.
“They’re my bonus kids and I’m their bonus mom,” said Carry.
Watch: Norfolk café owner shares story of surviving breast cancer
Laura Henderson had opened an art studio with Keene.
“Everywhere you turned, Kim had art,” she said. “It was just a joy for her to paint.”
Her friends are already hard at work planning fundraisers for Paint Pink including a “Paint the Block Pink” party. It will be held October 5 at 5pm at 45th and Colley Avenue.
