Marion is from Southend and is married with three adult children. She was a school governor for almost 25 years, and after leaving that role looked for somewhere else she could put those governance skills to use.

After seeing an advert for Trustees for Havens Hospices, Marion felt she might have something to offer as a volunteer. She had followed the development of the charity since its inception, knew people who had been cared for and people who worked or volunteered for the hospices. Marion works in a local school and spends her spare time engaged in a wide range of activities with family and friends. She is part of a local church and feels the hospice demonstrates living out the values she has found in her faith in the wider community.

When Marion was 14, her sister lost her life to Cystic Fibrosis so she has personal experience of living in a home with the presence of a life-limiting condition, of experiencing her parents loss and of continuing as a surviving sibling. “I know how much I and my parents would have valued hospice care which was not available in those days. So I hope to play a part in making sure it’s there now and in the future for those who will value it at their time of greatest need.