When the going got tough for Lisa Sanderson, all she had to do was think of her dad.
Lisa was finding it hard as the miles slowly ticked by on the Great North Run, but it was the image of her father Bill Crossley which kept her on track.
“He was always such an inspiration. He always believed in me, and that’s what got me through.”
And her efforts have meant she raised more than £800 for charity.
Lisa, 46, a mother of one, was running in her dad’s memory and to raise money for Kirkwood Hospice in Dalton, Huddersfield, which cared for Mr Crossley before he died in June, aged 81.
Born in Longroyd Bridge, Paddock, he grew up in Huddersfield, and when he was 16 his father took him to Liverpool docks to enlist him in the Merchant Navy.
“Dad was petrified, but he loved it,” said Lisa, who works as a community support worker for a housing association.
“As a hospital attendant he served on many ships but his favourite was the Queen Mary.
“Dad had five children and we all loved listening to his stories of all the countries he visited over the years, New Zealand, Australia, America, Hong Kong, China, Singapore to name a few.”
It was while home on leave in 1952 that he met the love of his life, Megan Church.
They married in 1955 and moved to Dalton in 1963, which became the family home for 30 years.
He later worked as a lorry driver and his wife was a seamstress, before retiring and moving to Emley 22 years ago, where they doted on their 13 grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
“They were such an inspiration to all their friends and family and everyone around them. Everybody in the community of Emley loved dad and mum so much, the church was absolutely packed at the funeral and £500 was also raised that day for the hospice. and £250 for RNLI Lifeboats.”
After he was diagnosed with cancer, the whole family took him on holiday to Filey.
“As children dad always took us on caravan holidays to Filey, so the whole family went on a big holiday there for dad. He loved it. There were around 30 or 40 of us, and dad had the time of his life.”
So far Lisa has raised more than £800 from the run.
“As you imagine we were all devastated when dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The staff at Kirkwood Hospice where dad spent his last few days were amazing so I felt that I wanted to pay something back to say thank you.”
