SHEILA’S £80K LEGACY HELPS VITAL RESEARCH
A Sunderland-raised former IT manager who died with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease has left more than £80,000 in her will to dementia research.
Sheila McCree, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in her early 60s and died last year aged 72, left £82,699 to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Sheila enjoyed a successful career in IT project managementandtraining,having beenapioneerwhencomputer systems were introduced inbusinessesinthelate1970s.
She was born and grew up in Sunderland and was the youngest of four children.
Sheila completed a degree in sociology at Sheffield University in 1967 and her first job was with Dunlopillo, in Harrogate, working in market research.
In the late 1970s she was given responsibility for reorganising the sales departEmslie ment to make efficient use of new computer systems.As partofthis,shelearnedtoprogramme computers herself.
In 1981, she joined construction company Henry Boot, becoming a key member of the team that successfully rolled out computer systems in 14 divisions across the world.
She went on to work for engineering company Dresser Holmes, in Huddersfield; Workshop 6, a Sheffield-based charity providing work training to the long-term unemployed; and the Barnsley and Doncaster Training and Enterprise Council before taking early retirement in 2001.
Outside of work, Sheila was a keen walker and led walks for the Harrogate and Chesterfield groups of the Ramblers Association.
She was a great music lover and sang with the Harrogate Choral Society and the Chesterfield Philharmonic Choir. She also enjoyed yoga, DIY, gardening and spending time with her sister and niece.
Sheila’s sister Dr Hazel said: “Our maternal grandmother had dementia and our mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia in her late 60s, so when Sheila was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her early 60s she knew what to expect. She therefore changed her will to support research.
“Sheila was a very special person.“She enjoyed her family and her varied social life, had a successful career and was much loved by those who knew her.”
Georgina Hyman, Legacy & In Memoriam Manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We are so grateful to Sheila for leaving us a gift in her will. The generosity shown by Sheila and others like her makes one in three of our pioneering research projects possible.
“Therefore, her gift is incredibly important in our mission to help scientists discovernewtreatmentsand find ways of tackling the diseases that cause dementia.”
For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK call 0300 111 5555 or visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.