Hi, my name is Christopher, writing on behalf of my dad Rodger, and younger siblings Daisy and Jordan. With heavy hearts, we are sharing the passing of our beloved mum, Claire, who recently lost her brave battle with cancer.

Claire was a loving mother, family member, and friend whose kindness, strength, and warmth touched everyone who knew her. Throughout her illness, she showed incredible courage and grace, continuing to think of others even while facing the hardest fight of her life.

(Pictured above L to R is Claire’s daughter Daisy, father-in-law Cyril, son Jordan, herself, husband Rodger, son Christopher)

Claire was the heart and steady hand of our family. She was always the responsible one, carefully managing the household finances and making sure everyone was looked after. Before her cancer diagnosis, she had only just started a new job that she loved and had been wishing to return to. Even throughout her treatments, her thoughts were never far from her family’s wellbeing. She constantly spoke about wanting to return to work part-time or find other ways to earn an income, driven by her deep love for her family and her desire to continue providing for them in any way she could.

(Pictured above L to R is Claire’s mum Muriel, herself, dad Colin, sister Lynne, brother Owen)

In lieu of flowers, we kindly ask our family and friends attending Claire’s funeral or wishing to honour her memory to consider making a donation to her immediate family through this page instead. Your generosity will help support her family with the expenses associated with Claire’s passing and plan for life without her. It will also allow her loving memory to be honoured in a meaningful way.

This GoFundMe is not something we ever imagined creating, but any contribution—no matter how small—will help ease the financial stress during this incredibly difficult time and allow us to focus on grieving and honouring Claire’s memory.

If you’re unable to donate, we would be deeply grateful if you could share this page and keep our family in your thoughts.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, support, and love.

Funeral details

Please RSVP by Tuesday 16 December to me (Christopher) - preferably to the email address listed on social posts that linked this GoFundMe, otherwise to the contact method on this page, so we can provide numbers for catering. Feel free to email me with a message about your fondest memories of Claire. We would also appreciate any photos you may have of her with any detail you can remember from the moments that were captured on camera.

Claire’s journey with cancer

(Pictured above is Claire taking a selfie with a big smile while in the elevator at her chemo clinic.)

In December 2023, our mum was diagnosed with colorectal (bowel) cancer. From the very beginning, she faced her diagnosis with calm determination and unwavering resilience, focusing on what needed to be done to heal and overcome in the illness.

Three months later (February 2024), she underwent major surgery which removed part of her bowel, and she spent six weeks recovering in hospital. After this, Mum adapted to living with both a colostomy and an ileostomy bag which work through a stoma. (A stoma is a surgically created opening in the abdomen that allows waste to exit the body when the natural pathways are blocked or removed.) She accepted these changes with grace and positivity, managing them without complaint and seeing them simply as part of what was needed to keep going. Though it was a big change, she took joy in the fact that the bags enabled her to comfortably leave the house.

She continued with ongoing chemotherapy and completed a course of targeted radiation to her abdomen. Throughout her treatment, Mum remained focused and resilient, even as she experienced several hospital stays, including over New Year’s Day in 2025.

As a symptom of the cancer, Mum had little appetite and difficulty with keeping up her intake of water. In October 2025, Mum spent three weeks in hospital after becoming severely dehydrated and bedridden. She persevered to rehabilitate her physical strength enough to be discharged with the plan to continue physio rehab.

A couple of weeks later she was admitted again for a longer stay of five weeks, spending her 55th birthday in hospital. During this time, her health only improved slightly until it declined rapidly in her last week. Even in her last days, she was defiant of her prognosis and wouldn’t let anyone tell her she couldn’t do physio to build her strength. Unfortunately, despite her immense will and optimism, her body was no longer able to keep up the fight as it reached it’s limits even as her spirit never did. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on 10 December 2025 surrounded by her husband, her children and loved ones.

(Pictured above is Claire, sleeping while we played Christmas music that she wished the house to be filled with had she come home.)