Family mark a milestone (From thisisoxfordshire)

Family mark a milestone

3:52pm Thursday 16th February 2012 in News By Sam McGregor

A MASSIVE day of celebration is planned in memory of a popular mother and hairdresser who lost her battle against cancer months before her milestone 40th birthday.

Mother-of-two Justine Silvester was just 37 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died last April – two years later .

But her family and friends are determined she will not be forgotten and have organised a fundraising car wash and party to mark what would have been Ms Silvester’s 40th birthday.

They hope to raise hundreds of pounds for the bereavement charity Seesaw – which has been supporting Ms Silvester’s children Maisie, ten, and Ruby, six, – and pay for a special day out for the girls as a gift from their mother.

Ms Silvester’s mother Julie, of Eden Way, Bicester, who now looks after the girls with her husband, Ian, said the family had been devastated by her daughter’s death and were all still struggling to come to terms with it.

She said: “Justine found a lump and I told her to see the doctor. The doctor wasn’t worried, but she went back.

“When she was diagnosed it came as a complete shock. We didn’t for one minute think it was cancer. She was a very private person but all her friends knew she had cancer.

“She put on a brave face and was always smiling and positive throughout the whole thing.

“She loved having fun and was always cheerful and polite.”

Mrs Silvester said her granddaughters had received “fantastic” support from Oxfordshire-based Seesaw, which helped them realise they were not alone in losing a parent.

Former Bicester Community College pupil Ms Silvester trained in salons in Oxford and at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College.

She worked in Essex for several years before returning to Bicester to work for salons Anne Veck and Andre and Achille, both in Bicester.

Now Ms Silvester’s schoolfriends and family, calling themselves “Team Silvester”, plan to keep her memory alive by raising cash for organisations that supported Justine and her family.

So far they have raised about £4,000 for cancer charities and Sobell House, where Ms Silvester died.

Amanda Cassidy, of Team Silvester, said: “We still miss her desperately. We thought that if all her family and friends got together it would be a nice celebration.”

Another friend, Jill White, added: “It’s a celebration of Justine’s life and achievements.”

A car wash will kick off a day of fundraising at Bicester Rugby Club on February 25. It will be staged between 10am and noon, followed by a disco and raffle, also at the club, from 7.30pm.

Team Silvester have roped in Maisie and Ruby, together with friends and their children, to help with the car wash, and have secured a string of raffle prizes.

They want all Ms Silvester’s old friends to turn up for the party.