NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — If you believe in signs, Patricia Mancuso had a beautiful one on Thursday. 

 

At least 70 friends and family had gathered in the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art parking lot behind Big Y with get-well signs, balloons and flowers to surprise Mancuso, who had recently been in the hospital. 

 

Shortly before the "Parade for Pat Mancuso," the cloudy sky decided to drop light rain on the crowd, bringing out the umbrellas. 

 

But just as Cindy Noel was driving Mancuso to the lot, a rainbow appeared in the sky to the east providing an arc of color across the gray sky. 

 

"Look, Patti, you brought a rainbow," several friends shouted to her. 

 

Besides family, the two largest groups were from Popcares and Berkshire County Line Dancers. Mancuso is a longtime member of the line dancers and a volunteer and committee member for PopCares.

 

The parking lot "parade" was held, like so many nowadays, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Donna St. Cyr, who serves on the PopCares committee with Mancuso said they wanted to do something to cheer her up. 

 

"We were going to parade up her street, but it's a dead end. So it's trying to get a bunch of cars going up and turn around come back down so this was I plan B, and I think it worked well," she said. 

 

The Williams College retiree was presented with PopCares' Henry Bounds Spirit of Kindness Award at last year's chicken dinner fundraiser. She'd already beat cancer nearly 20 years ago but said last October she was going through chemotherapy again. 

 

"She is a smart, dedicated, strong woman that I admire very much," Tammy St. Pierre said at the time. "She is without a doubt one of the strongest, most caring, loving and toughest people that I know."