5 kids without a mom.
The mom didn't have much of a chance either way. She had a very aggressive form a brain cancer with a very low chance of treatment success. Chemo would've likely bought her nothing more than a few painful months. Sad story all the way around.
Yes, and No.
Certainly they won't grow up with a Mom, but their family is clearly moral, and strong. Dad will run a tight ship.
But unlike some poor kid whose mother or father has abandoned them, and who feel cheated, unloved or inadequate because of that, these kids have a hero for a mother. They know she loved them and the sacrifice she will have made for them too. In that sense, she will always be there, as a role model, urging them on to goodness.