Family and friends raise thousands in memory of Hartlepool dad Gary

Gary Bousfield, who worked as a plumber and heating engineer, passed away in Alice House Hospice in March last year, aged just 49.

Since then family and friends of Gary have raised a fantastic £8,888 for Alice House as a tribute to his memory and to help other families needing the care that was given to Gary.

Gary’s wife Ann-Marie recently held a charity night called Go Groovy for Gary and encouraged everyone to dress up in the kind of loud shirts that he liked to wear.

The night was a sell-out, raising over £3,000 and included a live band, disco, pie and peas, raffle and tombola.

There have been lots of other examples of support in his memory too.

Gary’s son Sam is a member of Phoenix Taekwondo who raised £300 from a sponsored walk.

Builders merchant JT Atkinson, in Burn Road, where Gary was a regular customer, held a fundraiser in store and raised over £1,000.

Other friends and family members donated to his funeral collection and in lieu of flowers.

Anne-Marie is no stranger to the hospice. She was a volunteer in its kitchen until she was employed as a coffee shop assistant in their refurbished bistro earlier this year.

She first got the idea to support the hospice after her sister Shirley Hogg passed away in Alice House in 2011.

Anne-Marie said: “I am so grateful for all the support I received and the donations made to the Hospice in Gary’s memory.

“I take comfort in knowing how popular and well-loved Gary was.”

Nicola Winwood, an In Memory Fundraiser at Alice House, added: “Gary’s family and friends have done an amazing job supporting the hospice in Gary’s memory.

“The amount they have raised in such a short space of time is fantastic and they should be very proud.

“I can only imagine how much of a lovely person Gary was.”