I'm running 10k as part of the Great Manchester Run on
Sunday 20th May 2018

Please help me reach my target and raise much needed funds
for The Christie who cared for my Dad and supported my family when we needed it the most. 

Ready, Steady, JOE!

My Dad, Joe Bentley was often referred to as 'Super Mario' he wasn't a plumber (although he could turn his hand to anything) he got the nickname from his Italian roots and his look -  a short, pudgy, funny man with a moustache.

Words to describe my Dad other than 'Mario' would be :

'Intelligent' maybe my Dad's round tum was due to the fact that he must have swallowed an encyclopedia. Dad knew the answer to even the most bizarre questions, he was a crossword champion and could finish the hardest ones in minutes, he enjoyed learning and would be able to tell you facts and stats about simply anything. Playing any family board games or quizzes, you just had to be on Dad's team and you knew you could sit back, guaranteed to win! If knowledge is power then Dad had it all! 

'Hard Working'  If you love what you do then it makes going to work so much easier. Dad loved work and lived by the motto 'good, better, best, never let it rest, till your good is better and your better's best' he passed that onto me, Susanne and Stephen, and always wanted us to push ourselves and be the best that we could be.  I honestly think though that even if he was doing something he didn't enjoy then he would still be giving it 100% as that's the type of man he was. If it was worth doing, then it was worth doing properly. I've never known Dad to not be working (other than when he became too poorly to work) he never had any time off, and at the end of the week he passed his pay packet straight to my Mum.

'Creative' A fantastic artist. Dad enjoyed drawing, doodling, and scribbling little pictures everywhere. His watercolour paintings though were something else. Dad would paint for family and friends and enjoyed the challenge of re-creating a landscape or scene. Its wonderful to have his artwork around our homes. His creative skills and love of art also came a massive help with school homework or competitions when his passion took over and we had to be careful our homework still looked like we had actually done it.

'Funny' Dad could make anyone laugh, from little one liners to funny stories he put a smile on the face of everyone he met. So welcoming
and always saw the best in everybody. He was best known for his quick wit, what his friends called his Joe'isms, he was so sharp and had a response for everything. If he wasn't watching a documentary or Bob Ross on TV then it was guaranteed he would be watching a comedy of some sort. The old classics - Only Fools and Horses, Rising Damp, Blackadder, Open All Hours, Porridge, The Young Ones.... 

'Family' Those that knew my Dad will know what an amazing man he was. A true family man, he adored his wife and his 3 children and would do anything and everything for them. I have so many fond memories of family time, days out, holidays, Christmas, Birthdays and special occasions but most of our memories come from the everyday things that dad would do - wishing us 'Good Night God Bless' every night before bed, playing Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary and Who wants to be a Millionaire, walks around Doffcocker Lodge, helping with homework, Dad's taxi service, cheering on the football with him, listening to music together. Dad wouldn't miss our parents evening, Christmas plays, ballet classes, football matches. He always put his children before anything else.

There isn't a day that goes by when I don't think of him and
miss him. I think of all the things I'd love to share with him, and the
influence his presence would have had on my life as a teenager and now as an adult. I know how much he would have loved to have shared these times with me and our family. I  know that Dad would be so proud of us all.

There a million words I could still use... Friend, Husband, Dad, Brother, Uncle, he really was a wonderful man who is missed dearly and thought of everyday

My Dad was diagnosed with cancer of the liver in 2001, the cancer rapidly spread and unfortunately the tumours were too large and the
cancer too far spread to operate and Dad was told he would have 6-9 months to live. We shared 10 months with dad after his diagnosis, and he fell asleep in May 2002 at Bolton Hospice with his family and friends around him.

I have regularly, along with my Sister, raised money for the
Bolton Hospice through Midnight Walks and Runs. However, I have never done any fundraising for The Christie who treated and cared for our Dad and supported our family when we needed it the most. The staff at The Christie do an amazing job caring for people who are facing life limiting illnesses and we thank them so much for all they did for our dad but also for us as a family.

xxxx 381 Dad xxxx Good Night, God Bless xxxx

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