Losing husband made me want to help others

Marjorie Gratton

A WOMAN who has championed help for adults and children who have suffered bereavement has been nominated for a Pride in Oldham award.

Marjorie Gratton has given 16 years’ service to the Oldham Bereavement Support Service at the Royal Oldham Hospital. She also launched a service tailored especially for children who have lost loved ones.

Born and raised in Chadderton, Marjorie wanted to help bereaved people after the death of her husband, Ronald.

She said: “My desire to help people started closer to home. I lost Ronald in 1965 and ever since then I’ve always wanted to be able to offer help to people who have been in a similar scenario.”

In 1999, she became involved in counselling after studying for a diploma at Oldham College. She is now vice-chairman of the bereavement organisation.

Marjorie has been involved in all aspects of the service in her time but her proudest achievements include helping to establish a child grief team in 2005.

To further develop the children’s service, the organisation recently set about refurbishing a room which is furnished with toys and other items for grieving children.

She added: “We’ve successfully raised money to completely update the room. This was a particularly big moment for me because I knew exactly what was needed to get the most out of the money we raised.

“We’re trying to set up a system for donations because we are in desperate need of investment.

“We train new volunteers ourselves and we work with local colleges, looking for people wanting to go into counselling or something similar. Coming to our centre gives them a good grounding.”

Speaking about being nominated for a Pride in Oldham award, she said: “I’d just like to thank the people who nominated me. The recognition that this service receives is fantastic and is a testament to the character of everyone who works there.”