HOSPISCARE nurse Gay Hill helped the whole family when John Spry's illness progressed.

'Gay provided support, advice and care to us all during Dad's illness,' said John's daughter Helen Hawken.

John, who was a farmer and lived at Northlew all his life, died in September 2011 after a long battle with cancer.

'Dad would talk to Gay about the local area and the "good old days" and they just hit it off,' said Helen.

'Initially she visited to see how Dad was and for a chat about once a month and they built up a good relationship; so when Dad's condition deteriorated, because of their rapport, he trusted Gay and so did I.

'So when there was a greater need for help it was not like a stranger coming in.'

This was especially important as John's wife Lilian was not well either and he was her main carer.

Helen said: "Gay helped them both. She was very considerate of Mum's needs as well even though her illness was not life threatening.

'When Gay visited, she would sit in the front room and talk to both of them and always had good understanding of Mum's difficulties as well.'

John, who was a former president of Okehampton Golf Club and well known in the area, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999.

His illness was kept under control until ten years later when the condition worsened and the cancer spread to his pelvis.

He then had regular trips to Exeter hospital.

Helen said: 'Gay would talk to him about the treatment. She gave advice, guidance and support all along the way.

'Gay was a lifeline for me at this time,' said Helen.

'I could ring her if there were any problems and she would pop out and see him or telephone.

'We could talk things through with her — she was always there.'

As John's condition deteriorated he was admitted to Exeter hospital for a short while and subsequently, he was transferred back to Okehampton Hospital where Gay was based and she would regularly pop in and see him.

'Being able to move Dad back to our local hospital was good for us as a family, instead of having to travel to Exeter every day,' she said.

'We had Mum living with us at the time and it was so much easier for us to visit him at Okehampton.

'Dad spent six weeks at the hospital before he passed away.

'He wanted to be in hospital with people who could give him 24-hour expert help.

'I was just so grateful to Gay for being there for Dad during this time, for being a friendly, familiar face.'

In recognition of Hospiscare's help, one of John's granddaughters organised a golf memorial day at the local club in 2012 to raise funds.

Another granddaughter read at the Hospiscare Tree of Light Memorial Service in Okehampton in 2013 and the family like to continue to support Hospiscare in other ways.