Marianne marks ten years as a hospice volunteer

Marianne receives her ten year service award

It was back in 2019 when we last featured Marianne, one of our valued volunteer main entrance receptionists. You can find a link to her earlier story here 

At that time, she worked as a ‘bank’ volunteer here meaning that she would be happy, almost at the drop of a hat (but usually with a bit of notice), to fill in for volunteers taking some well-earned holiday or maybe if they were ill.

Marianne and Jim

So, it’s great to look back, and forwards, with Marianne as she celebrates her ten year long service award with the hospice.

Nowadays, Marianne is a fully committed volunteer giving her time three times a week (at least), for 3 hours at a time, on Saturdays, 6-9pm, Sundays, 3-6pm and Monday mornings, bright and breezy, 9-12noon.

We say ‘at least’ because she is still happy to fill in at other times when called upon and available. A real-life hospice superstar!

Her appreciation of hospices began down south, at St Catherine’s Hospice in Sussex. The love of her life, her husband, Jim, was admitted there.

In her previous write up Marianne told us,

“From the moment he arrived at the hospice Jim was quickly free from pain and felt very peaceful. I was struck by how attentive the hospice staff and volunteers were. Jim’s full name was William James Sunter and at hospital people would refer to him as William. From the moment we arrived, the staff at St Catherine’s Hospice knew him, like he was known by everyone, as Jim!

Marianne turns 70! (Surely not)

Just like at Wirral Hospice St John’s, people were friendly, empathetic, compassionate but, somehow, just ‘normal’, fun even… at the right time. Human, I suppose.”

Marianne and stepdaughter, Joanne, were holding hands with Jim when he died on 15th May 2015.

Josh. First winner of the Sunter Award

In March this year, Marianne turned 70 and, at a gathering of family and friends where she’d asked for no presents (we know she got a few), they made kind donations totalling over £1,000 for the hospice.

Marianne’s special cake

Hospice consultant, Helen, who bakes some extraordinary cakes, mainly to relax and for special celebrations for family and friends, baked Marianne a beautiful pig-themed cake (Marianne has a collection of over 300 pig ornaments and other curios which is one of her interesting hobbies, a story for another time).

Again, referring to her previous story, she and husband Jim were held in such high esteem at the school she taught Chemistry and was deputy head and where Jim was a groundsman, all-around handyman and logistics (school transport) manager, Box Hill in Surrey, that there is an annual award given in their honour called the ‘Sunter Award’.

West End Star Josh joins Marianne’s birthday celebrations

The young man we featured back in 2019, who had been judged to have gone above and beyond the normal course of study, Josh Barnett, has stayed in touch with Marianne and attended her 70^th birthday celebrations.

He sang on the day, which is magnificent because he’s actually a West End musical performer now in Book of Mormon.

Wow, that is simply wonderful!

Josh staying in touch with Marianne underlines the high regard she is held in.

We know that Marianne is part of a quiz team called The Soapsuds (based at Port Sunlight’s Lever Club). She’s been a keen quizzer for years and, as well as previously facing The Vixen on ITV’s The Chase, she more recently WON, with her niece, Claire, popular TV quiz show, Pointless.

After securing the show’s Pointless Trophies for reaching the final, they picked up the jackpot prize which had rolled over to £3,000!

Marianne and Claire. Champions of Pointless.

By the way… Who knew that one of the Prime Ministers who served under Queen Victoria, the 14^th Earl of Derby, would be a pointless answer? They did, obviously, HaHa!

Returning to hospices, here and St Catherine’s, Marianne is happy to share that sometime in the future both will be gifted a percentage of her legacy. She told us,

“I’m really happy when I can make a small donation to the hospice from time to time, both because of the amazing work I see happening and in memory of Jim who was given such kind care.

As a further desire to support Wirral Hospice St John’s and St Catherine’s, I updated my will in recent years as part of the hospice’s Make a Will Month and, having taken care of the portion I will leave to family, I also wanted to leave an even percentage to both hospices.

I feel I gained some real peace of mind knowing that I’ll still be helping in some way when my time comes.”  

That’s incredible, Marianne, you’re a legacy legend. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do for your cherished hospice(s).

If you’d like to volunteer at the hospice or in your community at one of our charity shops follow the links at www.wirralhospice.org/volunteering or email volunteering@wirralhospice.org or call 0151 334 2778 and ask for volunteer services