This is Clare. She lived a full and rewarding life, all her life.
She was 53 years old when she died, 5 days before her 54th birthday. Clare was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, teacher and friend, all those things and a lot more. Most precious to her were her family and friends and for those she taught, she gave them not only a good education, but some much-needed TLC. She was just a beautiful lady.We all know someone like Clare, someone very special. When they are taken from us we hardly know how to fill the void but when they touched our lives they made us stronger. Clare was taken away from us too soon but we keep her in our hearts.
Fundraising
Clare was an inspiration to all the pupils who attended Our Lady’s High School in Motherwell, particularly her R E and Registration Class and those who attended the Support Base.
The class put forward a proposal to the Pupil Council Body that the SDBTT – Clare Kemlo Fund should be adopted as one of the School’s Nominated Charities. In 2010 a donation of £800 was made to the Fund. Also at Our Lady’s High, and in recognition of the efforts made by pupils to offer support to others in the school community, a special award in Clare’s memory will be made annually. The winner of the award will have their name engraved onto a beautiful rosebowl donated by Clare’s husband John.
Sponsored Cycle
- Left to right: Alan (Clare & John’s son), Mauro, Bob, Pete, John, Tom and Shaun
Clare and John’s younger son, Alan, took part in a sponsored cycle.
A huge thanks to everyone who donated to our Charity. We raised a staggering amount of money for an area of cancer research which is in desperate need of funding. I can’t thank you all enough for your generosity and kind words.
Our cycle was hard physically and mentally but the good wishes and support that I received gave me all the strength I needed to get through it.
To Tom, Bob, Sean, Pete, Mauro and John; thank you so much for letting me gatecrash your trip and roll on next year!
Here is Alan’s story:
“My Mum passed away very suddenly in March of 2009, of a brain tumor just a few days before her birthday. It came as a massive shock and left us all in a complete state of disbelief as to how quickly someone can slip away.
All our family managed to get through to Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride to be by her side and her friends and colleagues rallied round to offer their support. It was a great show of affection to a wonderful woman who will be missed more than I can put into words. She always put others before herself and was stronger than I will ever be and she will always be in our thoughts.
I want to thank the hospital staff for doing a wonderful job and to all the staff and pupils who came to the funeral. It meant so much to us to see how much she was appreciated at the school and it gave us a deeper insight into her working life which she cared about so deeply.”
Sponsored Skydive
The first fundraising event for the Clare Kemlo Fund took place on Monday 11th May 2009 at Strathallan Airfield near Perth. Clare’s sister, Anne, took to the skies for a Sponsored Skydive. The family were there to support. Clare’s husband John, nephew Stephen and sister Pauline. A special mention to those who went along to support Anne on her first attempt on 2nd May, Big Stephen, Leslie, Stephen, John, Pauline, Gerard and Katie. Unfortunately the winds were strong on that day and the Skydive was postponed.
More Recent Events
Clare’s Dad, Harry, organised a concert held at St Quivox Church Hall in Prestwick (2010), where he and his Sangsters entertained many friends from the community with a variety of songs and poetry. The generosity of those who attended helped boost the fund by hundreds of pounds.
In May 2010, Clare’s sister Anne and her daughter Leslie took part in the Glasgow Women’s 10k. Members of the family attended to cheer them on and a great day out was had by all. The sum of £800 was raised.
Later in 2010, Harry brought out a CD of his 29 favourite tunes and, once again with generous support from friends, family and the local community, the fantastic sum of £500 was raised. Following on from the success of his first CD, Harry thought it would be a good idea to produce a second and with contributions from Clare’s brother Gerard and other members of the family, together with Harry’s choirs past and present, the new CD to date, has sold almost 200 copies, raising £2,000 for SDBTT. Here’s a photo of Harry at his favourite pastime!
If you would like a copy of the CD, please contact Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust who will, with your permission, forward your details to me (Anne). All proceeds will go directly to the Trust. The CD is on sale for £10.