Irene Cholerton passes away following long fight with cancer

Surgeon to Surgery rider Irene Cholerton sadly passed away on 29^th August 2010 following her own long battle with cancer.

A great supporter of the Danny Porter Foundation, her fundraising efforts for the Glasgow to Sheffield bike ride were relentless, composing of not only the ride but a garden party, art sale, auction prizes and most recently match funding from her previous employer Barclays plc.

Her funeral was held on 9^th September in Sheffield, attended by a large number of colleagues, friends and family all wishing to pay their respects to a remarkable woman.

Here follows a short appreciation of a woman whom, although I only knew for a few months, made a great impact on me, as she no doubt did countless others.

Irene Cholerton
14^th July 1959 – 29^th August 2010

I only met Irene for the first time in early March 2010, just six months ago. When Dan told me about Irene, her cancer which she had battled for a number of years and that she wanted to cycle 300 miles from Glasgow to Sheffield to raise money for the Foundation, I’ll admit I was a little worried she’d not realised what she was undertaking.

As I met her for the first time, on a cold, sunny Sunday morning in Sheffield, initial impressions did little to comfort me – she was tiny! Greeted by her trademark big smile, she went on to inform me that she’d just finished another round of chemotherapy. This woman wasn’t delusional, she was clearly just mad!

“Just leave me if I lag behind on the hills, I’ll find my way home” she said cheerily. That wasn’t our way of riding we told her. We agreed that everyone would ride the hills at their own pace and we’d regroup at the top. Needless to say we didn’t have to do much waiting! In fact we spent more time waiting at the bottom of hills as descending was the part she liked least…

After that 2 hours in the Peak District, on snow lined roads, I was left in no doubt that Irene was in it for real, and no doubt that we wouldn’t be rolling in to Sheffield without her.

I learned pretty early that if you told Irene you were going to do something, it was best to get on with it. She was someone who believed you shouldn’t put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do today and she expected the same from those around her.

My heart sank when the day before we were due to set off for Glasgow, Irene rang me to say she’d not been too well and had a problem with her wrist, to such an extent that she couldn’t grip the handlebars to ride her bike. But Irene wasn’t calling to cry off. She was calling to see if the van could make a detour to pick up the tandem her and Peter had hired for the ride!

And so one of the most memorable images of the ride was cast of Peter and Irene pedalling along, at a sometimes indecent pace, on a bicycle made for two. The smiles were just as broad when you passed them trying to lug the great beast up the hills, as they were when they inevitably came back past you on the descents. During that week in June friendships were made amongst the 22 riders that belied how short a time we’d known each other, but everyone was united in their admiration and awe of Irene and her happy, determined and humble approach, which naturally led her to Sheffield and an emotional finish.

Later in the summer, whilst standing on the Champs Elysees in Paris waiting for the final stage of the Tour de France, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see that familiar broad smile. How she’d spotted me in the massive crowds I’ll never know, but spending ten minutes chatting with Irene and Peter in the sunshine waiting for the greatest cyclists in the world to arrive seemed fitting. And of course she looked great, as indeed she had done every time I’d seen her since that first frosty morning.

I knew she wasn’t well again. I had correspondence with her just before she went back into hospital later in the summer. Indeed she’s emailed me after she’d come back out to give me a kick up the backside for not sending her a letter confirming the amount she’d raised so she could secure some match funding for us – typical Irene.

When Peter called to tell me she’s passed away I was of course saddened but, even more so, proud. I was proud to call Irene a friend, to have met her when I did and spent such an intense, enjoyable time with her and Peter.

It sounds clichéd to say that she inspired me, but Irene Cholerton genuinely made me think about the way I approach my life. Despite knowing that her illness would eventually better her, Irene refused to be downbeat, refused to stop enjoying herself, refused to stop smiling. She was an inspiration to us all.

Stuart Grainger
Trustee, Danny Porter Foundation