Caring Gerard’s last wish was to raise cash for charity that supported him and wife
Family fundraise for dementia centre in dad’s memory
A devoted family is determined to fulfil their beloved dad’s final request by fundraising for a demetia charity.
Gerard Woods Jnr and his sisters Angela, Elaine and Laura’s mother Anne was diagnosed with the cruel disease aged just 58.
She was cared for by her husband Gerard Woods Snr.
Anne would regularly spend time at the Alzheimer’s Scotland centre in Paisley’s Riccartsbar Avenue, providing Gerard Snr with crucial respite time as he helped his family come to terms with her illness.
Gerard Snr, who established Paisley plumbing business G Woods in 1960, sadly passed away in May aged 90.
His son Gerard now runs the family business with his two boys Tony and Michael.
Gerard Snr never forgot how important the support he and Anne received from Alzheimer Scotland was, and asked for any donations at his funeral to go directly to the Paisley base.
The family is now hoping to see an already impressive total reach more than £2,000.
Gerard Jnr said: “Alzheimer’s is a truly cruel disease. It’s a terrible thing to watch and it wasn’t nice to see how difficult it was for my dad and my mum.
“My father was a lovely man and looked after her like a true gentleman.
“She was only 58 when she was diagnosed and went on to live with it for another seven years.
“He was devoted to her though and the staff from the centre at Riccartsbar were brilliant with my mum too.
“They we really helpful and supportive and definitely helped our family get through it all.
“Before he passed away he specifically asked for donations to go straight to them.
“We set up a JustGiving page and it’s already up to around £1,800.
“We’d love to get that total to reach over £2,000 to show how much we appreciate everything they did for our family.”
Gerard Snr enjoyed the outdoors, poetry, music and loved nothing more than having all his family together, including spending time with his 12 grandchildren and great grandchild.
Carolyn Irvine, dementia advisor at Alzheimer Scotland in Paisley, says donations are currently even more vital than usual due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
She said: “Our centre in Paisley serves the whole of Renfrewshire and the day centre service and groups provide much needed respite to carers.
“At this moment in time it’s even more difficult to provide our services due to lockdown restrictions.
“Any funds or donation make an unbelievable difference and this is a truly wonderful and generous gesture and we can’t thank the family enough.
“We don’t want anyone to face dementia alone and even though our services haven’t returned to normal yet, we can always offer a listening ear, advice and support.”
To donate, visit the JustGiving link at www. justgiving. com/ fundraising/woods-family-paisley
He was devoted to mum and the staff from the centre at Riccartsbar were brilliant