LEANNE Mercer-Buckley couldn’t believe it when a friend tagged her into a Facebook post for the St. Rocco’s Sunflowers event at the end of May and she couldn’t wait to share the news with her sister Laura and her Mum, Marie.
Leanne said: “Our lovely Dad, John, was looked after at St. Rocco’s before he passed away and his bedroom there was called the Sunflower Room,”
‘’He loved sunflowers,” added Laura, “and they are such bright, happy flowers – a lovely way to remember him, as he was always so cheerful and positive. We were really excited when we heard about St. Rocco’s Sunflowers and felt we were meant to dedicate a sunflower to him.”
St Rocco’s is inviting people to dedicate an everlasting sunflower to a loved one in return for a donation to patient care. The sunflowers will then be displayed in the flowerbeds in front of the Town Hall for everyone to see and enjoy for two weeks from May 27, before being available to collect as a lasting keepsake.
It will be nine years this May since John passed away but the family say that they still cherish very positive memories from John’s time at St. Rocco’s.
The family, who all live close to each other in Appleton, say that their experiences have very much drawn them together. Dedicating a sunflower to their beloved husband and father has been a really positive thing for them to do.
Leanne said: “Dad was only 61 when he died and he’s missed so much – although he was great pals with my son, also called John, he has three other grandchildren that he’s never met but we talk about him all the time and dedicating our sunflower has been another lovely way for us to remember him.”
Anyone who would like to dedicate a sunflower can do so online at www.stroccos.org.uk or call 01925 575780.
