Ned's Mother, who is never identified by name, died in her Coeur d'Coeurs home when Ned was nine years old. She was the first human to be resurrected by Ned's touch, and it was from her that Ned learned one life had to be traded for another and that a second touch would result in permanent death.

When Ned was nine years old, she was baking a pie and helping Ned get cleaned up for dinner when a blood vessel in her brain burst, killing her instantly. Shocked, Ned touched his mother once under her left eye and she was brought back to life. She had been completely unaware of what happened to her and assumed she had slipped. Moments later, Ned and his mother saw Charles Charles fall dead while watering his lawn next door. This was the first time Ned realized if he kept someone alive for longer than one minute, another life had to be taken.

While tucking Ned into bed that evening, Ned's mother kissed her son once upon the forehead, and she died a second time. Ned tried to touch her again but she remained dead. This was the first time he realized that touching a resurrected person a second time would kill them forever. Ned avoided social attachments after his mother's death, fearing what he would do if someone else that he loved died.

The funerals of Ned's mother and Chuck's father were held simultaneously, and it was at that time that Ned and Chuck shared their first kisses with each other. Shortly afterward, Ned's father shipped Ned off to boarding school.