Workmates fulfil dad’s dying wish

PROUD: Janet Rylance (second left) and her daughters Olivia (left) and Hannah (fourth left) with some of the people who helped to raise money in Mark’s memory (from the left), James Warrington, Jacob Vink, Helen Kulczycki, Noah Vink, Rose Tipton from Macmillan, Charlie Connoly, Richard Vink, Naomi Regan, Denis Keaskin and Sammy Vink

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WORK colleagues who carried out a cancer sufferer’s dying wish to organise a charity cycle ride have raised a mammoth £54,334.

Mark Rylance’s widow Janet has paid tribute to the friends and spoke of her pride for the father of her two children.

Between them, they raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support’s “Give a Good Day” appeal — backed by the Oldham Chronicle, which means 147 local people with cancer will get a £369 grant to give them a good day.

Mark died in September last year (2010), 18 months after he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He was 45. The father of Olivia (7) and Hannah (11), he worked at the National Grid, Hollinwood, where his colleagues rallied round to raise the funds.

An emotional Janet said: “Mark’s long-time work colleague, Charlie Connoly came to visit him in the weeks before he died to see if there was anything his friends at work could do for him.

“A charity cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats was the first thing that came into Mark’s head, and what was so nice was that Charlie honoured his last wishes. It was such a lovely, lovely thing to do in memory of Mark, and it’s so hard for me to express how much I feel about it.

“There are not enough words to say how overwhelming it was. It helped to keep me going after Mark died, it was a real boost.”

Janet (46), added: “Charlie won’t take any credit for it, he said it was no big deal. But he organised the ride and everyone who took part did so in between their work and their own personal lives, which is why it is so heartwarming.

“The sad thing is it was something Mark would have loved to do, but he never got the chance.”

A total of 67 of Mark’s friends and colleagues undertook the feat in relay, with Charlie spending longest in the saddle - taking a week to get half the 1,074 mile route under his belt.

They raised an incredible amount for Macmillan, wearing T-shirts designed by youngsters at his daughters’ school in Stalybridge.

The cyclists carried a banner announcing “The Mark Rylance Challenge, 2011,” using it in a daily photograph. Some have pledged to make it an annual event, and are already planning a coast-to-coast ride for 2012.

Janet, who works at Mossley Hollins School, was part of a delegation who met the cyclists half way to cheer them on, and Hannah and Olivia did a short cycle stint to honour their father. The youngsters also took part in a mini-challenge for children and their families at Delamere Forest, Cheshire, after the event.

Janet opened her heart as she spoke of the couple’s “very happy” 20 years of marriage.

“Mark would have been so pleased to know that the tremendous amount of money raised in his memory was going to help other people with cancer,” she said.

“He had an operation to remove a tumour and everything seemed ok, then when it came back into his bowel he had chemotherapy but there was nothing they could do for him. He was so brave, and he was always smiling.”