The hospice is run very well and is as comfortable as a home. The staff are kindness itself. This includes catering, cleaning staff and volunteers. Everyone was so kind and considerate.St Ann’s Hospice patient

All quotations are used with permission.

It is three years since Gill Hazelby, from Cheadle Hulme, Stockport, died from ovarian cancer at the age of just 41.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

She was so impressed by the way St Ann’s Hospice cared for her that she asked her family to help them out in some way.

It was the least husband Paul and sons Ben and Jamie could do and, together with a group of friends, they have topped the six-figure mark in donations to the hospice.

“When Gill was in the hospice and the end was near she said we’d got to give something back for the way she’d been looked after,“ explained Paul. “We thought about a gift of £1,000 but then decided it would be better to raise money and it just went on from there.”

In less than two years they had raised £75,000 to pay for a complete renovation of the day care centre at Heald Green and since then the money has continued to roll in.

Ben, 18, and Jamie, 15, are both musicians and sold 14,000 copies of a tribute version of Lonely Sky, a Chris De Burgh song which was their mum’s favourite.

The pop star even recorded the song with the brothers and it was featured on Noel Edmonds’ TV show Noel’s Christmas Presents. The boys used that as a launch pad for a musical career and now appear in gigs.

“I think Gill would be amazed and truly proud of what we’ve done,“ said 46-year-old Paul. “I don’t want to keep taking up the time of the people on our committee but I’m sure we’ll carry on raising money.”

St Ann’s Hospice Fundraising Officer Clare Henderson said: “We can’t thank Paul and his fundraising committee enough for what they have done over the last three years. Paul’s infectious enthusiasm and drive is absolutely what has enabled this incredible achievement.”