Family raising money for the funeral of kind-hearted mum

Michelle Leary, of Tweetsmuir Close, who received the British Empire Medal this year for her key role in supporting her local community during lockdowns, passed away at 11.02pm on December 18.

She leaves behind her husband Kevin and three children Amy, Adam and Rose.

An employee of Morrisons Basingstoke, Michelle has also worked for the Gazette many years ago.

Amy described Michelle as an amazing mum whose interest was in making everyone happy.

“Most people in Basingstoke, if they ever met my mum, even when passing by or at work, they knew what a good heart she has,” Amy told the Gazette.

“Not only she was good with all the charities, she was also a good mum. Her interest was in making everyone happy. That’s all she did. She used to go to shops to help vulnerable people even though she herself was shielding. She was really selfless and always cared for everyone else.

“I also got a young brother and sister who are seven and four. They absolutely adore their mum. We all do.”

Michelle at her wedding

Michelle was a ‘Community Champion’ in Morrisons Basingstoke where she played a key role in supporting her local community, helping to ensure elderly, vulnerable and isolated customers have access to essentials through the Morrisons Doorstep Delivery Service - where customers can place a groceries order over the phone and have it delivered the next day by their local store.

In May this year, Michelle also came up with a simple yet effective idea that transformed the way Morrisons stores support their local food banks and would go on to provide tens of thousands of products to those experiencing food insecurity.

Her idea was to create ‘pick-up packs’ at the front of the store for customers to help donate to food banks. The pick-up packs contain items that the local food bank needed the most. Customers could then pick one paper bag up, pay for it with their shopping, and drop them off on their way out.

Michelle, after receiving her British Empire Medal

Michelle’s family has now created a gofundme page to raise money for her funeral.

Her sister Tracy Waller, who created the fundraising page, said the money raised would help them give a great farewell for the “lovely-cherished” Michelle.

“She had lots of friends and helped a lot of people with her kind heart and charity work. In her short life and was loved and cherished by all,” Tracy wrote on the gofundme page.

“Sadly, like most young married couples with little children, they could never have imagined this dreadful sadness happening to them, and did not have finances in place for a funeral. They had not been married long at all and were living a great full life with the two little ones, Adam and Rose.

“So I am asking you if you can help them and us as a family out by donating anything at all and will be donated to Kevin to help fund a great farewell for his lovely cherished Michelle.”

If you would like to contribute to Michelle’s funeral, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/michelle-leary