Family raise funds in memory of grandmother

Sheila Gladman died at her home in Penfold Road, Broadwater, on April 11 on her 60th birthday.

She first began to experience back pain in October, which rapidly became worse, and she had grown increasingly breathless before being diagnosed with advanced lung cancer on March 5.

After being diagnosed, Sheila pledged to make it to her birthday and wanted a 1960s and ’70s fancy dress party for friends and family.

Sheila sadly died before the party, but it went ahead in her memory at Broadwater Working Men’s Club, with money raised from it going to a range of charities she supported.

Teresa Gladman, from Chatham Road, Worthing, said her mother would have been proud.

The 37-year-old said: “Mum was the kind of person who always enjoyed a bit of a knees-up, and she loved to see everyone have fun.

“The amount raised was a shock to us. We couldn’t have imagined we would raise that much but we wouldn’t have been able to do it were it not for the generosity of our family and friends. It’s absolutely heart-felt what everyone did.

“I’d like to say a big thank-you to everyone who brought gifts and bought raffle tickets. We could feel our mum there. She would have been more than proud.”

Kind-hearted party-goers donated various gifts for a raffle, from spa treatments to £50 worth of free plumbing, and raised £1,000 in the process.

Money raised from the party will be split equally between St Barnabas House hospice, Halkidiki Animal Rescue, Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare.

Teresa added: “Mum was always so supportive to us. She loved animals and her students, particularly Steve, were like a second family to her.”