Husband pays tribute to 'beautiful' bride who died three days after wedding

News

7 Dec 2016

By Leicester Mercury | Posted: 4 December, 2016

A man who tied the knot with his terminally ill wife at LOROS just days before she died has told how it "meant the world" that he could fulfil her dream of being married, 17 years after he proposed.

Gregory Smith, of Syston, married Claire Rose-Smith while she was a patient at the Hospice, in Groby Road, Leicester.

Nursery nurse Claire, 38, who has two children with Greg, had been battling breast cancer for two years.

She died at LOROS just three days after the wedding.Alt text"I welled up when I saw how beautiful Claire looked on our wedding day," said 44-year-old Greg.

'She looked fantastic'

"I was lost for words. Claire looked fantastic. And for that short space of time, everything that was happening with Claire just disappeared."

Greg said Claire had been "badgering" him to get married since he proposed 17 years ago, and when she was on the ward at LOROS he thought it was about time he fulfilled her wish.

"I mentioned it to her on the Sunday and before I knew it, I was on the phone to the registrar," said Greg.

"And after I told them the circumstances, they said we could get married 'on Thursday'.

Alt text"When I said, do you mean next Thursday, or in two weeks, she said no, this Thursday. I couldn't believe it.

"Between us, our family, friends and LOROS, we had just a few days to organise a whole wedding and we did it.

"It was a great team effort."

From then, Greg and Claire's friends and families rallied round, picking up jobs and tasks to make their wedding day possible.

"I was running around getting the rings and Claire's mum was flying off getting the dress," said Greg, "while one of our friends stayed up all night to bake our cake.

"But everything seemed to fit into place perfectly."

Greg and Claire's daughter, seven-year-old Kiera, was a bridesmaid on the day, and son, 16-year-old Jordan, was best man.

"Having the wedding gave the kids something special to remember their mum by," said Greg.

"Plus, so many of our family and friends were able to be there. We all had such fun after, like we had a frame that people posed in with silly faces. You would never have believed we were in a hospice. You would've thought we were in a hotel.

"It meant the world to us that we were able to get married at LOROS. None of us will ever lose those memories."

The wedding took place last month.

After Claire died, the family set up a JustGiving page, which has raised more than £2,000 for the Hospice in just a matter of weeks, smashing the target of £500.

"It's amazing the amount of support we have received since Claire died," said Greg.

"Dodds Solicitors saw the pictures of our wedding on Facebook and got in touch, offering to help out with any financial and legal support, while a local company called Occasions, in Syston, donated all money we gave to them for my daughter's birthday party to LOROS.

"It's so heart-warming the amount of support we have had.

"LOROS means everything to us. It's overwhelming to see Claire's memory is being kept alive and obviously, we're raising money for the hospice too."

If you would like to donate to the JustGiving fund, search for 'Claire Rose-Smith' at justgiving.com

More articles

See all news

News

12th February

Who’s your local hero? Nominate them for a LOROS award

LOROS Hospice is inviting people to nominate their local heroes and see them honoured with an engraved leaf on a beautiful new tree sculpture.

New LOROS charity shop in Beaumont Leys shopping centre

News

24th January

LOROS Hospice opens new charity shop in Beaumont Leys

LOROS Hospice proudly opened a new charity shop located in Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre on Tuesday 23rd January.

News

19th January

LOROS welcomes new charity of the year partnership with retail display specialist Three Point

LOROS has warmly welcomed the news that Three Point have announced the hospice as their charity of the year for 2024.

{{ partial:general/slider :subtitle="shared_content:story_subtitle" :title="shared_content:story_title" :copy="shared_content:story_copy" :buttons="shared_content:story_buttons" :images="shared_content:story_images" }}
LOROS, Groby Road, Leicester LE3 9QE
Fundraising Regulator