It wasn’t long after Nazareena Poet said her final goodbye to her mum Sharon that the phone rang with more tragic news. On the other end of the line was her aunt explaining that her grandmother, Barbara, had died the same morning.
Nazareena and her family, who grew up in Handsworth Wood, were heartbroken by the double loss less than a fortnight before Christmas, on December 12. Sharon Harris, 62, died after a short but brave battle with lung cancer.
Sharon’s mum, Barbara Fitzmaurice, known affectionally as Pat, had seen her health deteriorate in her final years. Nazareena described her mum and grandmother as “incredible women” who “shaped our lives”.
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Her family are now trying to raise enough money for their relatives’ funeral costs. Nazareena has set up a GoFundMe page with a £4,000 target.
The 39-year-old, now living in Longbridge, said losing her mum and grandmother on the same day was “a shock”. She told BirminghamLive: “Our mum passed away peacefully with my sister and me by her side. We called my auntie to let her know and that’s when she told us about grandma.”
Sharon, who worked in many pubs across Birmingham throughout her life, died at 10.30am, barely five hours after her mum passed at 5am. Nazareena continued: “Mum was only diagnosed with lung cancer about four months before she died. We had gone ten years without speaking but we made up when she became ill. We had started to rebuild our relationship.”
She said it was “good to make up”. “We decided whatever happened between us should remain in the past. In your final moments, you don’t want to go out with regrets.”
Nazareena said her mum was “very hard working”. “I always knew her to be working in different pubs, like The Bell on Lozells Road. She worked in chip shops; taxi ranks; whatever job she could find to support us.
“Our nan was in and out of hospital for a while. She had trouble walking. Unfortunatley, we knew she didn’t have long left.”
Nazareena said the two women were the “heart and soul” of the family. She added: “They were our pillars of strength, love, and wisdom. Now, as we mourn their loss, we want to honour them with the beautiful farewell they deserve.”
On her ambition to raise enough money to give them a proper send-off, Nazareena wrote on GoFundMe: “Although we have managed to raise a large amount of the costs between the family, the double costs for both funerals at the same time has been a financial difficulty. We’re asking for your help.”
Click here if you would like to help the family by donating towards their loved ones’ funeral costs.