Funeral of Rosemere Cancer Centre’s coffee shop founder Marion Jackson announced after unexpected death

Marion, who passed away after a heart attack, was instrumental in chairing the coffee shop’s management committee of volunteers and working shifts behind the counter up until her unexpected death earlier this month.

Under her tenure, the coffee shop, which operates on a solely not-for-profit basis in support of Rosemere Cancer Foundation, brought in a staggering £414,000 for the charity, helping it to fund major projects benefitting thousands of local cancer patients.

She took on the coffee shop lead role post her retirement from teaching. She already had the practical experience of running a refreshments trolley for Royal Preston Hospital patients and their visitors through her membership of The Royal Voluntary Service (formerly the WRVS).

However, Marion made it her business to ensure that she and all the coffee shop’s voluntary staff, which also included her late husband Graham, provided more than just warm drinks and toasted teacakes, realising that a listening ear, kind words and smiles of encouragement were just as important to its customers.

Proud son and professional musician Tim, who plays French Horn for The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, said: “My mum was a truly inspirational woman. Besides her children and grandchildren, her greatest joys were her work for the coffee shop, teaching little children how to read and music, which was an interest she shared with my dad.

“My mum and dad were devoted to one another. She was a beautiful singer and he was a pianist, who could have been a professional concert pianist had he not been diagnosed with angina in his 20s and advised against taking on the stress of live performance.”

He added: “Dad became a high school music teacher instead and they both joined Preston Cecilian Choral Society.

“Dad was its pianist but from time to time, he gave solo recitals with mum beside him, turning his music pages, which as anyone who plays an instrument knows, is a skill in itself.”

Tim continued: “Whenever I gave them lifts, my parents, who lived in the same Fulwood house all their married lives, would sit in the back of the car holding hands. My dad died in January 2024 of pancreatic cancer. He was treated at the Royal Blackburn Hospital and my mum spent the entire duration of visiting time with him every day he was there.

“After his passing, mum was much diminished but determined to live life, which left us in awe. She went on a holiday to Japan and returned to working shifts in the coffee shop. Her favourite shift was the Saturday morning shift for new radiotherapy patients and their families, which are funded by Rosemere Cancer Foundation and designed to relieve fear and anxiety. Mum understood what it was like for families to be facing the unknown and was brilliantly supportive.”

Tim added: “Her incredible understanding made her the teacher she was. For many years, she worked at St Peter’s CE Primary in Fulwood. She only ever worked with Reception or Year One children. She had a fantastic way of helping them learn to read, which she also used to teach myself and my sister Zoe and my daughter Lana.

“Mum would cut out stepping stones and print words on them. You would leap from stepping stone to stepping stone shouting out the word you had landed on until before you knew it, you were reading sentences.”

Dan Hill, head of charities for Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chief officer of Rosemere Cancer Foundation, said: “We will be forever indebted to Marion for founding our coffee shop.

“Marion did the most incredible job and had the most amazing empathy with its customers of cancer centre patients, their loved ones and staff.”

Marion, is also survived by daughter-in-law Ros, son-in-law Joe and grandsons Ben and Charlie, who live with Zoe in Lanarkshire, where Zoe runs childcare service The Playbarn. Marion’s family have set up an online fundraising page for donations to Rosemere Cancer Foundation in Marion’s memory at https://www.justgiving.com/page/marionjackson

Her funeral will will take place at 11.15 am on Monday, April 27, at Preston Crematorium.

Following the crematorium service, Marion’s wake will take place at Haighton Manor.