Muriel Garner, 79, died of COPD just nine hours before her daughter Suzie, 43, who had cervical cancer. Their joint funeral will take place at York Crematorium tomorrow (Friday, June 14).
Suzie’s twin sister Emma Ashcroft led the tributes to the devoted mum and daughter – just weeks following the death of their father Brian, 82, who passed away on April 16.
Emma, who was at Suzie’s side 24/7 in the last six months of her life told The Press: “I’m broken hearted. I’m completely changed. I have lost half of me.”
Suzie Garner, left, with her twin sister Emma. Image supplied
She said Suzie, or Sooz, used to work at Hiscox insurance company in York. Suzie lived in Sheriff Hutton with her partner Jason and was very creative with a talent for making fairy houses. “She was really funny and very trusting,” said Emma.
Mum Muriel, known as Milly, will be remembered as “the best mum ever”.
Emma added: “She was the mum all my mates wanted. She would come and pick us up at 3am in her nightie when we’d been out clubbing.”
Muriel, of Strensall, had worked at York Golf Club and had been a carer. She had also been PA to celebrated York-based astrologer Jonathan Cainer; one of her tasks was to order a fleet of cars for Uri Geller who was regarded as “a bit of a diva”. She leaves two other children, sons Terry and Kevin.
Press readers may be familiar with Suzie’s tragic story because she bravely shared her cervical cancer experience with our newspaper, urging women to make sure they attended their cervical cancer screening tests and pushed for follow ups if they were worried about their health.
Emma also documented this journey with regular videos on her YouTube channel.
One of the most moving and poignant of Emma’s videos shows the last time Suzie and her mum were together – in York hospital. Later, Suzie was moved to St Leonard’s Hospice, where she died at 5.10am on May 17. Her mum passed away at York Hospital at 8.20pm on May 16.
Watch: Heartbreaking video of mum and daughter’s last moments together
In the video, Muriel’s hospital bed is brought next to Suzie’s and they hold hands. It was the first time in a year that Muriel had seen her daughter. She greets her with a quiet voice: “Hello darling, are you alright?” Later she tells her she is “so pretty”.
A week later, they had both passed away – two miles apart. Emma posted a gallery video of family photos following their deaths with the title: “I lost my whole world within the space of nine hours”.
In the aftermath, Emma said she has been diagnosed with “complex grief trauma and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They have given me some medication to get through Friday,” she said.
The funeral will be live streamed to an audience of 250 and later shared via Emma’s YouTube channel, where she has more than 14,000 followers.
She said making films with and about Suzie in recent months has helped her cope.
“It kept my mind ticking over; it gave me something to do – it was a distraction and gave me a purpose,” she said.
But the videos – which have clocked several million views – have also helped people, she added, because they have encouraged them to follow up their health concerns and symptoms.
“Suzie said she wanted the whole world to know about her story – so we have documented it all. We have followers from all over the world.
“I’ve had comments saying ‘I watched these videos and went back to my doctor’s and demanded answers’.”
Emma said encouraging people to advocate for their own health would be a fitting and lasting tribute to her sister.
