We’re heartbroken to share that Tracy passed away suddenly this week.

Because everything happened so unexpectedly, we’ve had to come together as a family to organise and cover the costs of her funeral. We’re doing everything we can to make it happen before Christmas and the New Year.

We will give her the goodbye she deserves, that isn’t in question, but any support would ease the financial strain during an already overwhelming time. Even a small contribution would help lighten the load and let us focus on grieving and supporting one another.

A couple of quid genuinely makes a difference. It helps us buy the flowers she loved, print out photos of her family, and put together a farewell that reflects who she was. If you knew and loved Tracy (and there are a lot of you, as she was a professional gossip after all), this is a simple way to help us say goodbye while supporting the family she lived for.

Mum cared deeply for everyone around her, and we want her farewell to reflect the warmth, humour and kindness she showed throughout her life.

Thank you so much for reading, sharing, or donating. Your help means more to us than we can put into words.

A little about Tracy

Tracy was born in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, the daughter of Maggie and Eric, and sister to Debbie.

From a young age she knew she wanted to work with children. She even moved to London for a time to follow that dream. Becoming a mum was the most important thing in her life, and she was overjoyed when Adam and Sophie were born, later completing her family with Zak and Katie. Her children were her world. If she could have had more, she absolutely would have. Becoming a grandmother to Felix, Adam and Mel’s son, was one of her proudest joys.

She loved the early years with Adam and Sophie: holidays, hobbies, and all the little moments of motherhood she threw herself into completely. Life changed in her late thirties when she began to show symptoms of an illness that nobody fully understands even now. By 2009 she was wheelchair bound, and by 2023 she was bed bound. Her family supported her in every way they could, finding ways to include her even as the illness made that harder each year.

Her husband Andrew served in the army for much of their marriage, often away for long stretches. It was difficult for Tracy, but she understood the importance and selflessness of the work he was doing. Andrew was always adamant that Sophie, Adam, Zak and Katie were all his kids, regardless of biology. He has been a constant presence in their lives, a true father to each of them, and is very much the rock holding the family together now.

As a person, Tracy was a force. She was funny, warm, emotional, stubborn, nosy in the best possible way, and absolutely loved knowing everything about everyone. She was a professional gossip and proud of it. She felt everything deeply. A TV show, a magazine story, a stranger in a waiting room — she’d find the emotion in it and make it personal. She loved choosing gifts for people, thinking carefully about what would make them feel seen. Birthdays and Christmas were a nightmare though; she refused to tell you what she wanted.

Tracy wasn’t just a mum to her own children, she was a mum to everyone. When she used to take Zak and Katie to school on her scooter, all the neighbourhood kids would pile on, standing on the back, hanging off the sides, or perched on her knee, honking the horn and laughing their heads off. Every child she met seemed to take to her instantly. They felt safe with her, welcomed by her, and they recognised that maternal nature straight away. She couldn’t help it; she mothered everyone who crossed her path.

She had quirks that everyone in the family still laughs about. She never got her child’s name right on the first try, mixing two or three together before saving face. She said “Ditto” constantly, a habit borrowed from the film Ghost and from her Nana. When she still had the use of her legs, she’d kick them constantly, even when sitting. When the kids were young she’d get them to walk on her back for a makeshift massage.

One of her happiest memories was getting the job at the local gym. She was so proud to represent a small business and be the first face people saw when they walked in. She made a point of knowing everyone who came through the door, and she was one of the rare people who genuinely loved answering the phone.

Her kids can still hear her voice clearly:

“Good afternoon, Physical Jerks Health and Fitness Centre, how may I help you?”

That was Tracy. Full of heart, full of personality, and full of love for her family.

Tracy was only 58 when she passed. Far too young for a mother, a grandmother, and someone with so much love left to give. She spent almost twenty years struggling with an illness that slowly took away her independence, and in the last few years she couldn’t be involved in her family’s lives in the way she desperately wanted to be.

What never changed was her love for them, her fierce pride, and the joy she felt in every moment she could still share. That’s the Tracy her family remembers, and that’s the woman we want to honour with a proper, heartfelt goodbye.

— Sophie & Family