IT WAS the challenge of a lifetime, and it was all in honour of their friend ‘Geordie’.
Fifteen of Dave Marshall’s friends and family raised £7,000 for the Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice in Tilehurst by scaling the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
The trek was to honour his memory, and for some of the participants, it was the first time they’d ever undertaken such an activity.
Brother-in-law, Scott Oakes (50), says: “Geordie was diagnosed with cancer in 2018 and after a long battle he spent his final days at Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice.
“Geordie absolutely loved the hospice.
“He was very happy there, the nurses got to know him so well and he became the person everyone would know. He was always a character and would chat to anyone.”
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He continues: “Geordie lived in Newbury for the past 30 years but some of us still live in Newcastle where he was from.
“We travelled down to be with him in his final weeks, and while we were all together, we came up with the idea of hiking the Yorkshire Three Peaks.
“None of us are hikers or had done anything like this before, but we were all determined to do something for Geordie and also to give back to Sue Ryder when they did so much for him and his family.
“The day itself was incredible – 15 of us took part which is testament to how many lives he touched and inspired. I was overwhelmed and how many of us there were. His partner, his children, his siblings and more, were all united for Geordie.
“I think we all underestimated how hard the challenge was going to be. But what kept me going was feeling him being there and saying, ‘You need to do this’. I was doing it for him.”
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And when they’d climbed the peaks and got back down safely again, they had a chance to take stock of what they had achieved.
“We were all so overwhelmed when we had completed the challenge, we couldn’t believe we had done it,” Scott says.
“We originally wanted to raise £5,000 so to reach £7,000 is just absolutely incredible. Thank you to everyone who supported us, Geordie would be so grateful.”
And the team’s efforts were welcomed by Sue Ryder’s team. The palliative care centre relies on donations for its work.
Hannah Richards, its community fundraising manager, said: “What Geordie’s friends and family achieved in his memory is truly incredible.
“Not only did they complete the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge, but they also managed to raise more than £7,000 for our hospice.
“From all of us at Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent we want to say thank you, the money raised means we can keep supporting people at the most difficult times of their lives.”
