‘She helped so many people’
Father and son’s fundraiser in memory of mum who died from breast cancer
A FATHER and son are planning a huge fundraising event in memory of their wife and mother who died of breast cancer.
Mark and Mackensie Jones, who live in Leek, are organising a women’s cricket tournament and music festival in memory of Patsy Jones, below, who died of breast cancer in 2019.
The family-friendly event, which will be held at Wedgwood Cricket Club in Barlaston – where Mark is the second team captain and Mackensie plays for the first team – is being held in aid of Stokeon-trent cancer charity Pink Sisters and Misters, who support people who have been diagnosed with cancer and their families and friends.
The headline act at the festival – which will feature 10 bands – will be George Michael tribute act Steve Mitchell, in honour of Patsy’s favourite artist. Eight women’s cricket teams from across Staffordshire will also compete in the tournament which will run alongside the music festival, which is taking place from 12noon to 10pm on Patsy’s birthday, Sunday June 5.
Mark, aged 53, and 25-year-old Mackensie, had hoped to organise a fundraising event the year after Patsy died but the covid pandemic delayed their plans. They hope to make it an annual event to raise as much money and awareness as possible. Entry to the event is free – with donations welcome – and there will also be a bar, barbecue and prizes to add to the fun.
Patsy recovered from her first breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 but in 2019 she was given the devastating news that the cancer had returned, after suffering from pain in her leg. She spent eight weeks in the Douglas Macmillan Hospice before returning to the then family home in Norton Heights. She passed away on May 16, 2019, at the age of 55, and was buried on her birthday.
Mark and Patsy met in the late 1980s when they both worked for Royal Doulton. After they were both made redundant, Patsy retrained as a mortgage adviser and worked for the Co-operative Bank in Leek.
Mackensie previously raised more than £1,200 for the Dougie Mac while his mum was being cared for at the hospice. He has recently become a father and his one-month-old daughter is named Everly Patsy Rose after her late grandmother.
Mark, who is technical team leader at Global Ceramic Materials in Milton, said: “Patsy never got to meet Everly but we will tell her all about her. We miss her so much. She had a lot of friends and was very well-respected by the people she worked with.
“She was lovely and bubbly and helped so many people. We are organising this event because she would have wanted us to help people too.”