When Alan Tompson lost Anne, the love of his life and wife of more than 60 years, he felt he couldn’t go on.
But he found a supportive community and a bereavement counsellor at Victoria Hospice.
“It saved me,” he said in a 2016 interview.
“The counsellor helped me understand that talking and listening to others wasn’t just helping me, I was helping them too. I realized that if I can be of help to people, then that’s what I should do. I’m honouring Anne’s memory by trying to be as much help as possible to others.”
Alan’s vision of helping others extended long into the future, so he included Victoria Hospice in his will. He died in Victoria in February 2023.
“Alan and Anne’s loving and vibrant partnership was an inspiration,” says Wendy Innes, Victoria Hospice Director of Development. “Alan’s heartfelt tribute to Anne and to future patients and families at hospice is profoundly touching, and we’re very grateful.”