Ashton great grandmother ready for 7,500ft skydive

A high-flying great grandmother who turns 80 this year is taking to the skies to leap from a plane for Willow Wood Hospice.

Sylvia Heatley is braving a 7,500ft skydive this summer in loving memory of her husband Barry, who was cared for at the hospice.

Sylvia explained: “I lost my husband Barry to throat cancer last October and Willow Wood were amazing.

“They provided palliative care and went above and beyond for him, so this is my way of giving back. They can’t ever do enough for you.

“Barry and I were married for 59 wonderful years, and shared many amazing memories.”

Barry was diagnosed in June last year and given just months to live. He fought against the odds but sadly passed in October 2022. He was 79 and would have celebrated his 80th birthday this month.

Sylvia, who lived in Gorton as a child, met Barry when they were almost 20 and they married when they were 21.

“We first met in the former Domino Club on Grey Mare Lane in Openshaw and he just said ‘you’re for me’ and that was it from there - we had been together ever since.”

The couple settled in Droylsden and Barry worked as a joiner by trade, with Sylvia working in customer services for JD Williams.

They moved to Mottram in their retirement just a couple of years ago. Sylvia said: “Barry fought many illnesses throughout his life, but this one was very sudden and unfortunately one he could not fight.”

The remarkable great grandmother, who has eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren - with another on the way - says she likes to give back and so this is her way of saying thank you to everyone at the hospice for their care.

She has no fear of heights, having already completed an abseil on behalf of the hospice previously.

“I do like to give back and in the past abseiled down the side of Ikea in Ashton and I’ve also taken part in ‘Walks 4 Life’, but this one is solely for the love of my life,” she says.

Sylvia will not be alone in her skydiving endeavour, with her two granddaughters Ashley Clifton and Karys Heatley also joining her.

Ashley, 34, from Ashton, said: “I’ve never done a skydive before, but it’s definitely on my bucket list to do. So when Nana said she was going to do one, I said I would have to do it with her and Karys said she would too.”

Both granddaughters joked that they were looking forward to ‘landing’ most of all, but Ashley added: “We’re looking forward to the adrenalin rush and doing something for such an important cause. We are doing something we want to do, but other people will benefit and get so much out of it.

“We couldn’t have got through the last three months of my grandad’s life without Willow Wood and nothing was too great an ask for my nana.”

Karys, 24, who lives in Oxfordshire, added: “It will be a sense of achievement, of giving back and saying thank you to Willow Wood.”

Both said: “Willow Wood provided amazing care to our grandad and we are looking to raise as much money as we can to help the Willow Wood team continue the amazing work they do.

“We miss him very much and would love to do our part to give back and support individuals and their families fighting cancer.”

Sylvia concluded: “We miss him every minute of every day and hope we are doing him proud.”

Sam Duncan, Willow Wood fundraising and communications director, said: “Sylvia is an inspiration to us all. What a legend! It costs £3.3m to run Willow Wood each year and we only receive 20 per cent government funding. The remaining 80 per cent comes from the generosity of our local community.

“It is because of the support of fundraisers like Sylvia, Ashley and Karys that we can continue to provide specialist palliative care to the people of Tameside and Glossop.”

The family trio will be braving the skydive this August bank holiday weekend on August 27 at noon, taking off from the Black Knights Skydiving centre near Lancaster.

They have set up three just giving pages and if you would like to donate, you can visit:

• Sylvia: https://www.just- giving.com/page/sylvia-heat- ley-1686074229771

• Karys: https://www.just- giving.com/page/karys-heat- ley-1686117703071

• Ashley: https://www.just- giving.com/page/ashley-bram- hall-1686074077798

KISS FOR GRANDAD: From loving granddaughter Karys