A kind, dignified and gentle Mother, Wife and Grandmother lost her eighteen month battle with cancer on Sunday 30 Jan 2011, 3 days after her 59 birthday at the Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Backford Chester.
Back in December her only wish was to be home for Christmas and her wish came true and she spent a few special, precious hours surrounded by her loved ones, husband Stuart, Daughter Claire her son Ian and her beautiful Granddaughter’s Niamh and Isla.
Linda Morris, daughter to Ron and Doreen Vernall was a Chester girl through and through and never wished to live anywhere else, working for the City Council for nearly twenty years and living with her husband in Vicars Cross.
Linda has two sisters, Margaret and Debbie and a brother Clive. Linda will always be remembered as a kind and gentle soul who fought her illness with a quiet acceptance and bravery. Linda’s most striking features were here beautiful amber eyes and her smile that reflected her beauty inside and out, her family was her world and she took great pride in her home and family.
One of her most proud moments was last year when she watched her son Ian get married to Ina at All Saints church in Hoole, where herself and Stuart married in 1972.
Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer at 37 and was all clear for 20 years when it returned and sadly this time had spread and was not curable.
Linda was apprehensive at first about going to the Hospice in Backford but those feelings were soon replaced by feelings of safety and love because of the professional and genuine care provided to her by all the staff there. They look after the whole family ensuring everyone’s needs are met; nothing is too much trouble whether it’s a home cooked meal, a chat or a cuddle. They are not just nurses but counsellors and friends who prepare everyone you for those last weeks, days and even moments and help you through it.
Some peoples preconceptions of the hospice are that it is somehow sombre and sad but it is not like that at all, it is the opposite, a very special place full of warmth, love and happiness, a haven where angels go to work on a daily basis.
Linda’s family take comfort in some treasured words that Linda carried round in her purse:
“Go forward confidently in the direction of your dreams; Live the life you have imagined”
They also remember Linda’s own words about the Staff at the Hospice a few weeks before she passed away: “You are all wonderful, wonderful people. I feel safe, like I am at home here”
Linda’s family would like to thanks the staff at the Hospice for their unforgettable care and support over the last seven weeks and hope that Linda’s story will help raise awareness of the incredible work they do at the Hospice and most importantly the much needed financial contributions that without they would not be able to continue which would be unthinkable for future families that at some point may need their support
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