2 Dec 2025 Patient and Family Stories

Susan’s Story over 40 years of supporting The Kirkwood

For more than four decades, The Kirkwood has been woven into Susan’s life in a way that few organisations ever are. What began with childhood loss and the memory of a mother who suffered without the support now offered by hospice care has grown into a lifetime of advocacy, volunteering and unwavering belief in the power of dignity at the end of life. Her story is not just about grief or service, it's about how she has championed The Kirkwood from its earliest days to the present, and why she continues to fight for its future.

For Susan Parlor, her connection to The Kirkwood began long before the hospice even existed. It started with a moment she has carried for nearly seven decades: Susand said: “I was only 13 when my mum got cancer and I’ll never forget sitting on the steps hearing her shout to my dad to give her something to end it all. That memory has lived with me all my life. If places like the hospice had existed back then, she wouldn’t have suffered the way she did. Everything would have been, maybe not nice memories but better memories. At least she wouldn’t have had to suffer like that, and my dad wouldn’t have had to go through it either.”

That painful early experience shaped her understanding of what dignified end of life care should look like. A few years later, when her aunt received hospice care in Oldham, it struck her just how different it could be.

Susan explained: “My auntie went into the hospice in Oldham, and I remember thinking how lovely it was. Even the pillows seemed lovely. It was just such a dignified place to die. That stuck with me. People deserve dignity at the end of their life.”

So when she read in the Huddersfield Examiner about a meeting to explore establishing a hospice in the area, she felt immediately drawn to it: “When I saw the piece in the Examiner about a meeting in Huddersfield, me and my daughter went along. They asked for volunteers to start support groups, and I just thought, yes, this is something we need. So as a little team we started the support group in Holmfirth. We had some lovely fun times and raised thousands of pounds for the hospice. Alongside volunteering in the hospice shop, we spent many happy hours working with the help of a great team, making it a vital part of the fundraising effort. People were really interested in the hospice, that’s where it all began for us.”

She remembers those formative moments with pride: “I was there at the very opening, right at the start, the first brick. That was over 40 years ago. I’ve supported The Kirkwood ever since, and I’ve done everything I could over the years. It’s something I’ve always been passionate about.”

To Susan, The Kirkwood has always been more than a hospice: “Experiencing somebody dying in hospital and somebody dying in a hospice, there’s just no comparison,” she explains. “We all have to die, don’t we? But we should be able to die knowing people care. A hospice isn’t like a hospital; it’s like a family. People need to know how good it is.”

That belief is what has kept her fundraising, walking and volunteering for decades. Susan has taken part in our big walk event The Kirkwood Starlight Walk: “I’ve done every walk, every event. The last time I only managed the little one, the 3.3k, but I’ve always taken part. I’ve done the Sunflower events, the Light Up A Life Night, everything. I still support it now, and so does everyone I know.”

The depth of her commitment to The Kirkwood only deepened when her son became ill during the pandemic: “Three or four years ago, my son got cancer. It was during the pandemic, so he didn’t get the chance to come into the hospice, he had to die at home. We couldn’t even visit him when he was in hospital; we had to leave his clothes and food at the door.”

Yet, in the most difficult of times, there was comfort in the care he received: “When he came home, the district nurses, the Macmillan nurses and The Kirkwood nurses were brilliant. One nurse in particular, Helen, was just wonderful. They supported him, and they supported us too.”

Like many long standing volunteers, Susan has felt the weight of the recent financial pressures affecting The Kirkwood: “It makes me cross the cuts. Absolutely cross. If it weren’t for volunteers, the hospice would’ve closed or been a much smaller version of itself. Ordinary people know how important it is. We should get more funding from the government and the NHS.”

After everything she has lived through her mother’s suffering, her aunt’s dignified final days, her son’s illness, and 40 years of volunteering Susan’s belief in The Kirkwood remains unshakable: “You never know if it’s going to happen to you, or your family, or your next door neighbour. That’s why people should support it. You never know when you’ll need a place like this. It’s just wonderful. That’s all I can say. My friends have been here, my daughter’s best friend died here last year. It’s a wonderful place. What else can you say?”

Want to support The Kirkwood just like Susan you can make a regular donation HERE or sign up to be a volunteer HERE.