FRESH HOPE IN A NEW MILLENNIUM

2000

The start of the new millennium is celebrated in style with spectacular firework displays around the world.

THE joy of great-grandson Charlie (grandson of daughter Angela) arriving in 1999 masks the sadness the couple are suffering at losing their second son.

Derek was diagnosed with leukaemia in his 40s. A construction worker, he had moved to Manchester when his first marriage ended. He was just 47 when he died in 1998, leaving four children. ‘It was terrible,’ says Nancy. ‘He struggled for a year. We just wanted to scoop him up and take care of him but he was so far away. It was an awful death. We thought we would never get over it.’

Their big family help see the couple through.