Dorothy Marsh was born in Woodley, Stockport in 1935 into a farming family. She was an accomplished pianist in her youth and worked in bookkeeping and accountancy. While she was working at an accountancy firm in Manchester, she was lucky enough to see the late queen and Prince Phillip on a visit to the town hall.
While Dorothy was recovering from tuberculosis, she fell in love with Alan, one of her brother Austin’s friends. Dorothy and Alan had a very good marriage and travelled extensively on cruises to the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. Sadly, Alan died from oesophageal cancer in 1992 which was obviously a huge loss to Dorothy. Brenda, Dorothy’s niece, said that throughout her life, Dorothy would still talk about Alan and what he had said as though he had only recently died.
As well as losing Alan, Dorothy also had other cancer bereavements throughout her life. Her mum died from breast cancer in 1978 and her father died from lung cancer in 1999.
Dorothy died aged 88 in 2024. Due to her experiences with cancer in her family, she decided to leave the majority of her estate to charity, including The Christie Charity.
Brenda said she was so proud of her aunt including a gift to The Christie Charity in her Will. As her own mother also died from breast cancer, she knew the difference that Dorothy’s legacy could make to cancer research. She also said that Dorothy was a force of nature, a very resilient and determined lady who knew what she wanted and that was to be independent and self-sufficient.
“The work of the Christie hospital was very important to Dorothy as it had had a big impact for her husband and parents.
“As her relative, I feel immensely proud that Dorothy decided to leave the majority of her estate to charity. Her legacy will make such a difference, as does all legacies which are left to The Christie.
