Lancaster man lost his lockdown locks to raise money for St John’s Hospice

Lancaster man Terry Deehan shaved his lockdown locks to raise money for St John's Hospice.
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Terry Deehan has lived in the area his whole life, spending 54 years living with his mum in Lancaster who he describes as his ‘best friend’.

Maureen, Terry’s mum, donated to St John’s Hospice every month, and after her death eight years ago, he was keen to continue supporting the hospice, which she always described as a “really good cause.”

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Terry said “I wanted to do something to support St John’s Hospice, as it was a charity close to my mum’s heart and I want to carry on her legacy.

Terry Deehan delivering his cheque with his boss, Donna Knowles and Jaqueline Edgecombe, a Hospice at Home nurse.Terry Deehan delivering his cheque with his boss, Donna Knowles and Jaqueline Edgecombe, a Hospice at Home nurse.
Terry Deehan delivering his cheque with his boss, Donna Knowles and Jaqueline Edgecombe, a Hospice at Home nurse.

"My hair had gotten long during lockdown and my colleague was teasing me about it, so I said I would shave it off if I could raise £200.”

Terry beat his target by a huge margin, raising £1,000 from his colleagues, friends and family, and the money is still coming in, with another £162 having been raised since the hospice posted about Terry on Facebook.

The haircut happened at work on a Monday morning, and Terry’s colleagues at Electricity North West were the ones with the shaver.

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They really enjoyed themselves as Terry admits he likes to give them a hard time, although he’s always the life of the party; dressing up as Santa for kids and pensioners every Christmas, and he was dressed as a Dalek for the head shave.

Terry Deehan mid-shave with a colleague.Terry Deehan mid-shave with a colleague.
Terry Deehan mid-shave with a colleague.

Terry said “I wanted to do it in memory of my mum. It would have been her birthday that week, she was a good supporter of the hospice so it was an easy decision to shave my head and raise vital funds for them.

"I said if someone gave another £20 they could shave my eyebrows off too - and they did. I’d shave it off every year if I could raise another £1,000, I think it’s important to donate to local charities and St John’s Hospice is special to me because it was special to Mum.”

Electricity North West are very supportive of Terry, and donated the final £100 to reach his initial total of £1,000.

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Catherine Butterworth, director of income generation at St John’s Hospice, said “It’s an honour that Terry has chosen to support St John’s with his head shave, and I’m sure he’s done his mum’s memory proud. We rely on public support for two thirds of our funding, so we are really grateful to fundraisers like Terry and people who give regularly, like his mum did, who help us provide care for the community year round.”

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