Althea Greenaway sadly lost her husband, Geoff in 2007 after suffering from a brain tumour. At what was a very painful and difficult time for Althea and her family, she was able to see that her grief was a journey and one that was unique to her.
This journey inspired Althea to help other women who were coping with their own loss of a loved one – to create a place for them to share their feelings, to restore some confidence and to even learn how to deal with some of the day to day tasks they may never have had to worry about before. This place is better known as the Forget Thee Not group.
Established in 2008, with 12 members, the group was originally for widows. However, it has grown quite rapidly and now helps women who have experienced any type of loss, whether this be the passing of a friend or family member or the breakup of a marriage. The Forget Thee Not group now boasts 70 members and proudly promotes the slogan ‘any lady, any age, any loss.’
The group meets once a month on a Saturday morning at the Renewal Church in Solihull, where women share their experiences and support one another. More information can be found by visiting www.renewalcc.com or calling 0121 711 7300.
Many of Forget Thee Not team members have received counselling and listening skills training and group founders Althea and Margaret have even travelled across the Atlantic to deliver talks and offer support and guidance to women in Bermuda. Not only that, Althea has also visited Kenya on seven occasions.
Althea is supporting our Forget Me Not campaign in memory of her husband, Geoff who spent two and a half weeks at the Hospice, being cared for by our nurses. Althea was so impressed with the individual attention Geoff received and she’ll always remember the Chinese meal they were both able to share with their children in the Hospice conservatory just before Geoff sadly passed away.
Althea will be placing her forget-me-not in her garden once the display is over, as a lasting tribute to her loving husband.
