Meet Chuck Beckman and Sharon Zaubi

How the KARE Foundation’s paths crossed with Chuck came through an uncanny, but extremely fortunate, route….

When soliciting bands to play at the 2nd annual KARE FEST, an incredible band, Heavy Hitters, signed up to donate their time to play at the FEST. It turns out, their guitar player Chuck Beckman, recently lost his partner and soulmate Sharon Zaubi to Glioblastoma on April 22nd, 2019.

To backtrack with the story of Chuck and Sharon, in 2011, Chuck was playing guitar in a different band when he met Sharon. Sharon was an incredibly talented singer and bass player. There was a great chemistry between them, and they decided to try writing songs together. From that collaboration, their relationship grew and Sharon became Chuck’s life partner, as well as my work partner in 2012. They started playing together as a duo, and in several bands including the Heavy Hitters. 

In 2014, Sharon suddenly had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. Scans revealed she had a brain tumor the size of an orange in her right frontal lobe. At that time, the diagnosis was an Astrocytoma Grade 3. Unfortunately, Astrocytoma’s are the precursor to Glioblastoma. Sharon was scheduled for surgery, and they were able to remove 95% of the tumor. As standard treatment for both Astrocytoma and Glioblastoma, Sharon started radiation and chemotherapy.

A second surgery became necessary 5 months later, and two more surgeries over the next several years. Unfortunately, the tumor turned into a Grade 4 Glioblastoma. In 2019, a scan revealed the tumor had progressed to the point where she had only weeks to live. Chuck took her home to care for her until her passing on April 22nd, 2019. As you can imagine, the KARE mission was very near and dear to Chuck’s heart and that is why the Heavy Hitters, in honor of Sharon, elected to donate their time to play for the KARE FEST.

Fast forward to 2024, the KARE Foundation contacted Chuck with the Heavy Hitters to see if they were able to play again this year. This is when Chuck mentioned he had been diagnosed with colon cancer and was not able to play with the band and was not involved in scheduling while on medical leave. When asked how he was doing, Chuck said they found the tumor soon after the FEST in 2023.  Other scans revealed 2 lymph nodes were affected. Chuck had surgery on December 13th, 2023. They removed 14 inches of colon and 25 lymph nodes to be on the safe side. The surgery was successful, but he had to have an ileostomy bag while he healed and then a 2nd surgery on February 5th to reverse the ileostomy. He is now recovering from the 2nd surgery and will not be cleared to work again with the band until the April timeframe.  As a self-employed musician, the financial stress with no income for nearly 4 months has been extremely stressful and filled with anxiety!

This is when the board convened and decided we needed to support Chuck… who through his selfless heart, supported the KARE Foundation mission for the KARE FEST is 2023 in honor of Sharon Zaubi! Chuck did not have words for how thankful he was to the KARE Foundation for the financial assistance at a time when he needed it most!

We will continue to stay in contact with Chuck to monitor his progress! Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he heals, continues treatments to beat the cancer, and returns to playing music again with his incredible band!  We know Paul would be giving us high-fives for our decision to support Chuck! Unfortunately, the Heavy Hitter band was booked for the day of the FEST in 2024, but we are hopeful they will be back on the roster for 2025 with Chuck at the helm playing his guitar! 😊

THANK YOU again donors! You make this all possible.

Blessings all!