A high-flying great grandmother who turns 80 this year is taking to the skies to leap from a plane for Willow Wood Hospice.
Sylvia Heatley is braving a 7,500ft skydive this summer in loving memory of her husband Barry, who was cared for at the hospice.
Sylvia explained: “I lost my husband Barry to throat cancer last October and Willow Wood were amazing.
“They provided palliative care and went above and beyond for him, so this is my way of giving back. They can’t ever do enough for you.
“Barry and I were married for 59 wonderful years, and shared many amazing memories.”
Barry was diagnosed in June last year and given just months to live. He fought against the odds but sadly passed in October 2022. He was 79 and would have celebrated his 80th birthday this month.
Sylvia, who lived in Gorton as a child, met Barry when they were almost 20 and they married when they were 21.
“We first met in the former Domino Club on Grey Mare Lane in Openshaw and he just said ‘you’re for me’ and that was it from there – we had been together ever since.”
The couple settled in Droylsden and Barry worked as a joiner by trade, with Sylvia working in customer services for JD Williams.
They moved to Mottram in their retirement just a couple of years ago. Sylvia said: “Barry fought many illnesses throughout his life, but this one was very sudden and unfortunately one he could not fight.”
The remarkable great grandmother, who has eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren – with another on the way – says she likes to give back and so this is her way of saying thank you to everyone at the hospice for their care.
She has no fear of heights, having already completed an abseil on behalf of the hospice previously.
“I do like to give back and in the past abseiled down the side of Ikea in Ashton and I’ve also taken part in ‘Walks 4 Life’, but this one is solely for the love of my life,” she says.
Sylvia will not be alone in her skydiving endeavour, with her two granddaughters Ashley Clifton and Karys Heatley also joining her.
Ashley, 34, from Ashton, said: “I’ve never done a skydive before, but it’s definitely on my bucket list to do. So when Nana said she was going to do one, I said I would have to do it with her and Karys said she would too.”
Both granddaughters joked that they were looking forward to ‘landing’ most of all, but Ashley added: “We’re looking forward to the adrenalin rush and doing something for such an important cause. We are doing something we want to do, but other people will benefit and get so much out of it.
“We couldn’t have got through the last three months of my grandad’s life without Willow Wood and nothing was too great an ask for my nana.”
Karys, 24, who lives in Oxfordshire, added: “It will be a sense of achievement, of giving back and saying thank you to Willow Wood.”
Both said: “Willow Wood provided amazing care to our grandad and we are looking to raise as much money as we can to help the Willow Wood team continue the amazing work they do.
“We miss him very much and would love to do our part to give back and support individuals and their families fighting cancer.”
Sylvia concluded: “We miss him every minute of every day and hope we are doing him proud.”
Sam Duncan, Willow Wood fundraising and communications director, said: “Sylvia is an inspiration to us all. What a legend! It costs £3.3m to run Willow Wood each year and we only receive 20 per cent government funding. The remaining 80 per cent comes from the generosity of our local community.
“It is because of the support of fundraisers like Sylvia, Ashley and Karys that we can continue to provide specialist palliative care to the people of Tameside and Glossop.”
The family trio will be braving the skydive this August bank holiday weekend on August 27 at noon, taking off from the Black Knights Skydiving centre near Lancaster.
They have set up three just giving pages and if you would like to donate, you can visit:
• Sylvia: https://www.just- giving.com/page/sylvia-heat- ley-1686074229771
• Karys: https://www.just- giving.com/page/karys-heat- ley-1686117703071
• Ashley: https://www.just- giving.com/page/ashley-bram- hall-1686074077798
From Tameside Reporter on Thursday 20 July 2023
The beautiful and poignant Willow Wood Hospice annual Butterfly Memory Release was held last Saturday.
There were three staged releases of butterflies throughout the day to enable the large numbers who wished to attend to remember a loved one and release a butterfly.
The sun shone on each with all three releases dodging the showers and much heavier downpours that arrived later in the day.
The release is an opportunity for those who have lost someone close to remember a loved one, each life represented by a butterfly.
Ten minutes before each release Andrew Price played violin, with one of the hospice’s chaplains saying a few words during the release and the Willow Wood Choir singing following each release.
Hospice fundraising director Sam Duncan said: “It was a fantastic event and so well supported by members of the community and a really moving day. I was really proud to be a member of the Willow Wood team and I would like to thank everyone who supported the day and all the volunteers who made it such a success.”
If you’ve ever wondered why butterflies are used, it is because, in folklore and myths throughout the world, they are seen as a symbol for the soul. Indeed, the ancient Greek word for butterfly was the same as their word for the soul. It’s not just in European myths, but in many cultures across the world butterflies are revered in the same way.
As an alternative to live butterflies, supporters could purchase a metal bespoke butterfly to place in the gardens in memory of a loved one.
For more pictures go to our Butterfly page
From Tameside Reporter on 13 July 2023
Staff and volunteers gathered at the hospice to pay tribute to Eddy and thank him for his service and friendship and presented him with cards and gifts.
There was laughter as well as tears when Eddy responded with an entertaining speech, thanking the staff and volunteers for their friendship over the years and praising the vital work of Willow Wood Hospice.
Dunelm in Ashton-under-Lyne has donated a generous amount of homewares and furniture to Willow Wood Hospice, who provide high quality care and support across the Tameside and Glossop community.
The donation of comfy chairs, cushions, lamps, bookshelves and accessories have been used to furnish the hospice’s bereavement rooms, meaning loved ones can spend quality time in a homely and comfortable space.
The store members at Ashton-under-Lyne chose to donate to Willow Wood Hospice as their staff have supported many of Dunelm’s store colleague’s friends and family, while the hospice also provided incredible care for two previous Dunelm employees during an extremely hard time.
Summer Law, Community Champion at Dunelm Ashton-under-Lyne, said: “The team at Willow Wood Hospice do such an important job caring for local people and we wanted to do our bit to make sure they continue to be cared for in a space that feels like a home away from home.”
Lisa Buckley, from Willow Wood Hospice, added: “We are delighted with the makeover the team from Dunelm Ashton-under-Lyne, it has provided in an extremely important space within the Hospice. We’ve received lovely feedback on how relaxing and peaceful the room is, we can’t thank the Dunelm team enough.”
The donation is part of the homeware retailer’s series of initiatives in the North West, which sees its network of stores support members of their local community in a variety of different ways, during what is a challenging time for so many.
The initiatives include the store’s new Home to Home homeware donation scheme, part of Dunelm’s wider commitment to a circular economy.
The Home to Home scheme, which is available at the Ashton-under-Lyne store, as well as Dunelm’s 17 other North West stores, allows customers to donate pre-loved homeware items from any retailer, to be redistributed to local charities and community groups in the region.
It enables people to reduce household clutter without sending items to landfill, while benefiting those in their local communities who may otherwise go without essential homewares.
From Tameside Reporter on Monday, 3 July 2023
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