The Clitheroe veitiser ibut • 9 p i n n g y o u n by Faiza Afzaal


A BRIDE of only 13 days who died from cancer has been described as “charismatic and an inspiration to others”. The funeral service of Sadie


Kearns-Banks Musgrove (20)took place on Friday a t the same church where she married her childhood sweetheart Matthew (21), just days before. The couple had been together since


meeting at St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington. More than 500 mourners packed


into St Mary’s RC Church, in Lang- ho, for the moving service and wept as Sadie’s coffin was carried out to a ver­ sion of “Somewhere Over the Rain­ bow” which she had recorded when she was 15 years-old. Sadie, who also attended St Mary’s


Primarj'- School in Langho, was diag­ nosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (a cancer of the myeloid line of white blood cells) in November 2005. In June 2006 she underwent a successful bone-marrow transplant after a donor from outside the family w’as found. After her treatment she was looking


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forward to returning to work at the Boddington Arms, in Samlesbury, where she worked as a trainee assis­ tan t manager, when she began to experience significant weight loss. A year later, a lump was discovered


on her chest and doctors confirmed the cancer had returned. She was taken back to the Christie


Hospital, in Manchester, for radio­ therapy treatment, but tumours grew in her chest, throat, face, wrist and leg and she was dealt a devastating blow when doctors said the leukaemia had returned in her bone marrow. Sadie and Matthew, who works as a


laboratory technician a t Castle Cement, Clitheroe, decided to bring their marriage forward by 11 days after it became clear her condition was terminal. She died peacefully a t home on


December 29th. Sadie’s distraught parents, Clive


and Judith Banks, are being comfort­ ed by family and friends at the family home in Wilpshire. Family friend Mrs Janet Hall said


the family had been inundated with cards, flowers and poignant messages of support from loved ones, friends and well-wishers since the tragedy.


She explained how Sadie fought the


illness on all fronts and never gave up hope. “She never lost her sense of humour


and was extremely brave throughout her illness,” she said. “She was very weak on the day of her wedding and was four-and-a-half hours late to the church, but Fr Sean Horgan waited to conduct the ceremony and when Sadie arrived she looked absolutely beauti­ ful.” She added: “I have known Sadie


since she was a child and she was always kind, considerate, charismatic and full of life. “She loved animals and had eight


cats and four dogs. She was fiercely independent and had an uncanny way of getting her own way. “She was an inspiration to others


during her illness. She Mil be greatly missed by all and it will be hard to for­ get her quirky personality.” Similar sentiments have been


echoed by her ex-teachers a t St Augustine’s. Paying tribute, head­ teacher Mr Anthony McNamara said; “Staff at St Augustine's remem­ ber Sadie as a lively pupil who had many friends. The huge turnout for her moving Requiem Mass, which


included a large number of former schoolmates and teachers, was an indication of her popularity. “Since we first learnt of Sadie’s ill­


ness staff have been praying for her and her family. Fr Horgan's tribute and the eulogy, which followed gave us many insights into Sadie's courage and her growing wisdom as she faced


her illness. Listening to a recording of her singing ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Over the Rainbow’ during the service brought home to us all how talented a singer she had become. “Her husband, Matthew, is also a


former pupil who is liked and respected by us all. Both families are very much in our tjioughts.”


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