A one-time dedicated volunteer with the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital has left £15,000 to the charity in her will.
The late Irene Norman, who once worked in the Friends shop, had requested that the money went towards a piece of much needed equipment at the hospital. In response, the Friends have agreed the money should go towards the £18,000 for two portable bladder scanners which formed part of the last successful round of bids made by Island NHS staff to the charity.
Mrs Norman’s niece, Geraldine Beare, who lives in Ilminster, Somerset, and is her executor, said:
“I know she loved working for the Friends, and it certainly helped her after the death of her partner many years ago.”
She recalled that Mrs Norman, who was aged 91 when she died, had until 1974 worked for 34 years at the National Physical Laboratory, Teddington. Later she and her partner moved to Millfield Road, Carisbrooke, although for the last few years of her life she was cared for at Northbrooke House, Havenstreet.
Lesley Myland, chairman of the Friends, said:
“Bequests are so important in helping the Friends to meet requests to buy additional much-needed facilities for our NHS on the Island. Mrs Norman would have seen at first hand the good work of our charity, and we are so grateful she so generously remembered us when she made her will.”
