Caron’s son Charlie wants to wed in the same church as her... that made me cry
Broadcaster’s tears 20 years after tragic loss
Gloria Hunniford has shed many tears in the 20 years since her beloved daughter Caron Keating died from breast cancer, aged just 41, leaving two heartbroken little boys without their mum.
There will be more tears later this year – of happiness as well as sorrow – when Caron’s oldest son Charlie gets married in the same church where his mum and dad wed in 1991.
Charlie was only nine years old and his brother Gabriel, seven when Caron died, but their doting grandmother Gloria has done all she can to keep their mother’s memory alive.
Gloria, 84, says: “We talk about her all the time and Charlie has decided that he wants to be married in the church his mum got married in.
“That’s happening later this year, which I think is lovely. It made me cry when he told me.
“Charlie’s wedding will be a wonderful big family event.”
TV presenter Caron married Russ Lindsay in St Peter’s Church in Hever, Kent, and is buried in its graveyard.
Gloria, friends and family gathered at the church on April 13 to mark the 20th anniversary of Caron’s death, before moving on to a nearby pub to celebrate her life.
Gloria posted a photo of the gathering, writing: “We remembered Caron and marked the 20th anniversary of losing my darling girl.
“Many of her old friends and of course family came together to reminisce and tell heartfelt stories about what made her so remarkable.
“Thank you for making it such a special day and of course to Hever Church and the Henry VIII pub.”
Gloria says it was a good chance for Charlie, 29, and Gabriel, 27, to “learn more about their mum”.
Asked about the grief of losing Caron, Gloria told Bella magazine this week: “You manage it all your life, it never goes away. But what you have to do in the end is learn to live with it.
“To lose a child is the worst thing, in my opinion, that can ever happen to you. I was completely and utterly devastated and there was a point where I thought, ‘This could take me out as well’.”
It was one particular letter of condolence that gave her the focus to carry on. She says: “A letter I received really changed my healing. This woman wrote to me saying, ‘I had to tell you how sorry I am that Caron died’.
“And then she said something so profound that led to me starting up the Caron Keating Foundation, ‘You now have to find a way of carrying Caron’s spirit forward. She has a very big soul and the soul is never the end’.
“That night I thought ‘I have got to start up a charity in Caron’s name’. That really is a major part of my healing.
“The mantra I would give to anybody who is going through something similar is to try and do something positive for other people against something so deeply negative.”
She set up The Caron Keating Foundation together with Caron’s brothers Paul and Michael. It has raised funds to support many smaller cancer charities and hospices over the years, financing professional carers and support groups. TV and radio broadcaster Gloria says her work has helped her through the trauma of losing her daughter.
But having the right attitude also got her through the toughest times, and helped Caron in her life, too.
Gloria says: “Caron was dealing with cancer, and attitude is everything. It allowed her to live seven years when she was only given a year and a half.” Gloria was very close to her daughter, also a broadcaster, who was a presenter on Blue Peter, This Morning and consumer show We Can Work It.
Caron was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997, moving to Australia for alternative therapies in the final years of her life, before going into a hospice in Switzerland, and then returning to Britain, where she died at Gloria’s home in Sevenoaks, Kent.
Writing last year about Caron’s final years in Australia, Gloria said: “One beach with very special memories for me is Byron Bay in Australia, although those memories are bittersweet.
“When my daughter, Caron, was diagnosed with breast cancer, she discovered some complementary
treatments to years, “She move and ended out Irish in there Australia up mothers to staying pursue and never for them. decided three want their children to be further than round the corner, so her being so far away at such a difficult time caused me great heartache.
“Although, we visited nine times and in the end I made my peace with
To lose a child is the worst thing that can ever happen to you. I was devastated
GLORIA HUNNIFORD BROADCASTER ON LOSING DAUGHTER CARON
They know how much we loved her and that I’m a neutral platform if they want to talk
GLORIA HUNNIFORD BROADCASTER ON RELATIONSHIP WITH HER GRANDSONS
the country. Initially, I had been resentful that Australia had taken Caron away.
“But I saw the freedom it had given her and remembered some of the happy moments we had shared before she returned to our home in Kent for her final days.”
Gloria continues to share a close bond with her former son-in-law Russ as well as his new wife Sally, who have two “lovely” daughters.
Gloria says staying close to Caron’s sons has also been a blessing.
In November, she posted photos of Charlie and Gabriel with her at an ice rink at Battersea Power Station.
Gloria told Bella: “It’s not that I think I take on the role of Caron, but they know how much we loved her and that I’m a neutral platform if they want to talk about anything.
“It’s really important for me that I see them, but a grandmother must move with the times and tap into their schedule.”
■ The full interview with Gloria is in this week’s issue of Bella magazine.