This past week I said farewell to my father, Paul Roe, who passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning. To say what needs to be said about Dad would take far more space than this magazine allows. He was a larger-than-life figure as many of you reading this who knew him or knew of him will know. Dad was a historian by training, but a natural storyteller, a gift he picked up sitting across the dinner table from my grandfather Allan, along with a wicked sense of humour. It is to my Dad, that I owe my own love of stories and interest in people, and I am very grateful for all I have learned by his example.

Dad’s final days were spent in the Walanmarra palliative care unit in Dubbo, in a new suite fitted out with a ‘cuddle bed’, something Orange too is now blessed to have thanks to the hard work and lobbying of Orange Push For Palliative. The cuddle bed at Walanmarra was donated by The Belinda McGowan Foundation, an organisation created with a mission to equip more rural and remote hospitals with these special beds.

For my family it was a priceless gift. It allowed my mother to lie alongside her husband of 53 years and hold him in the final hours of their life together, something denied to her for several weeks prior due to Dad’s illness.

I would like to thank the Foundation for this precious time and encourage readers to consider making a donation so that others may get the chance to farewell their own loved ones in beautiful facilities like those made available to my Dad and my family. On behalf of my family, thanks again.

You can find out more about The Belinda McGowan Foundation by visiting thebelindamcgowanfoundation.org.au

Or you can donate to the beautiful work of Orange’s own Push for Palliative here: www.op4p.org.au/donate