KIRSTEN TREENA VICTORIA MELANIE DICKSON
On behalf of the family, can I welcome all of you here today to celebrate the life of KIRSTEN TREENA VICTORIA MELANIE DICKSON.... known to you all as KIRSTEN.
A life where family was at the very heart of KIRSTEN's world and where being a mum was something she was born to be and was damned good at it too... mind you she did have a good teacher.
KIRSTEN was a much-loved daughter and sister, a devoted wife and mother.. a hugely respected sister-in-law, and a fabulous auntie and great aunt and friend.
KIRSTEN's pride and joy... her two girls PHOEBE and LOIS have also penned words about the lady who was their mum but as they grew into the beautiful young women they are today also became their best friends.
It is said that when you die it does not mean you lose to cancer
You beat cancer by how you live
Why you live and the manner in which you live
And there is little doubt that KIRSTEN beat cancer hands down fighting it three times after first finding a lump in her breast whilst away on holiday in Cyrpus in the summer of 2003.
Such a devastating diagnosis as breat cancer at the age of just 32 would have been enough to break many an individual.
But KIRSTEN and BARRY had two young girls and she was determined that she was going to bring them up and see them shine.
She underwent surgery and both chemo and radiotherapy at Tameside and The Christie hospitals and recovered well. As she would say... she got on with life.
In 2011 KIRSTEN would discover another primary lump in her other breast and went through the whole process again.
It says much about the determination of this wonderful woman that she came out the other side and lived life to the full.
It was six years ago, in 2015 that a back problem revealed secondary cancer and though this was managed with yet more radio and chemo and drugs it took its toll on her body.
There were spells in hospital but KIRSTEN was determined to see out her days at home with her family around her and that.. thankfully is what happened.
It has been without doubt one of the cruellest aspects of this pandemic that families have been denied access to loved ones in their final days and Barry and the girls are so glad that KIRSTEN was at home still toiling over an intricate jigsaw of 101 Dalmatians when she passed away peacefully on the 31st of May.
Kirsten was just 50 years of age but had managed to extend that life by 18 years after her first cancer diagnosis.
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Now it is true to say that we feel a whole gambit of emotions when grief comes along.
There is obviously the sadness in the loss of some very dear to you
There is sometimes regret at what was or was not said.
There can be anger too - why was KIRSTEN taken from you  so young and given so so many hurdles to overcome
And there can be relief.. and guilt at that relief.. that for KIRSTEN  the suffering is now over and she is at peace.
And don't forget all the positive emotions.. like PRIDE at all she has achieved in her life and the legacy that she now leaves behind .... visible here today with the loving family that surrounds her.
You will all miss KIRSTEN in the coming days, weeks, months and years, it is the very personal memories that will keep KIRSTEN close to your heart.
Anniversaries, birthdays and special locations will often be poignant reminders of times spent.
Yes of course there might be some tears... but I urge you don't be afraid to smile as your memories are triggered by a piece of music or something someone said.
Like when a George Michael track comes on the radio... it's a special request for KIRSTEN.
KIRSTEN loved her music.. everything from INXS to Fleetwood Mac and Candi Statton.. who we will hear from later.
It was always either MAGIC Radio or KIRSTEN's very own SPOTIFY playlist and many is the time that the girls would have to send What's App message downstairs to their mum to turn the music DOWN as they could not concentrate on their school or college work!
Like the next time the film "Ghost" gets an airing on TV and it makes you smile....  KIRSTEN certainly had a soft spot for anything Patrick Swayze... though she did also enjoy making the girls sit through a horror movie though she often fell asleep before the end and left the horrified youngsters hiding behind a cushion as the scariest bits played out.
Or you walk past the Hot Chocolate in the supermarket aisle and it gives you a warm feeling inside as you remember KIRSTEN always enjoyed her Hot Chocolate every night.. usually whilst watching re-runs of "Birds of a Feather" or ""Sex in the City"
All of you here today have your own personal memories of KIRSTEN
While we listen to The Righteous Brothers singing the brilliant "Unchained Melody" let those happy memories fill your mind and warm your heart.
SO where did it all begin for KIRSTEN?
Well she was born on the 7th of December 1970 to painter and decorator Robert Jagger and his wife Phylis and home was Holts Estate in Oldham.
KIRSTEN was the youngest of five children with older brothers DEAN, MARK and PHILLIP and sister DAWN... and she never did quite forgive her parents for using up the names they had chosen by christening her KIRSTIE TREENA VICTORIA MELANIE JAGGER.
Imagine getting that into a signature on a cheque!
So she was simply KIRSTEN and she was educated at St Hugh's Primary School and then Breezehill Secondary... it was clear that KIRSTEN was very bright academically.
It was when at the age of 15 that KIRSTEN had to deal with a major health issue for the first time...  MYASTHENIA... and she was gravely ill in ICU in Manchester for several days.
MYASTHENIA is an auto-immune disease that causes breathing and anxiety issues.... I'm no doctor.. I needed biologist PHOEBE to explain that one to me (thanks PHOEBE).
KIRSTEN would overcome this to attend Oldham College to study haridressing and beauty... skills that she would never use in the workplace but came it handy for herself and later with her girls.
It was here too that she would first meet LISA... Lisa took KIRSTEN under her wing after her illness meant she missed much of the first term and they became the best of friends.
In her teenage years KIRSTEN used to join her mum in watching Oldham Rugby... the days when they still played at the traditional Waterheddings before things went markedly downhill.
KIRSTEN left College at 18 to work in officie adminstration at MCM in Chadderton and five years later moved to accountants Gatley Read on Union Street in Oldham close to the old Chronicle offices.
It was here that she would meet a certain BARRY DICKSON and they would eventually move in together in Bainbridge Road, Waterhead, then after 2 years they moved Elm Grove, Grotton before moving to their beautiful home in Station Lane in Grotton in 2005.
Their early courting days were going out for meals - EST EST EST in Bury was a regular haunt.. or regular trips to the IKEA superstore in Warrington ... yes we used to have to trek down the M62 for the interior design fix before they built the Ashton one.
It was either there or M&S ... and it was a trip to the restaurant to appease the young girls before doing the shopping... something that has stuck with them.
The couple had daughters Phoebe (in September of 1999) and LOIS (in May of 2002) and eventually tied the knot to become Mr and Mrs Dickson at St Agnes's Church on the 21st of August 2004 with a wedding reception at the famous La Pergola, Denshaw, and a honeymoon for the whole family in Disneyland, Florida.
It had been the likes of Morecambe for two weeks at Oldham Wakes or the occasional change to Prestatyn when KIRSTEN was growing up... but her girls got to travel to such exotic locations as MAJORCA, MARBELLA, DUBAI, NEW YORK and a great trip full of laughs when they got to stay with cousin LUKE who lives in SAN FRANSISCO.
They would also take to the ski slopes in the Winter... KIRSTEN was determined that the girls learned to ski.
Though KIRSTEN was very much there to look good in the designer gear and sunglasses and for the apres ski and the views rather than show any prowess on the slopes.
The family once went up to a mountain-top restaurant in a cable car and were skiiing back down.... but KIRSTEN opted for the safer route and came back down by the car... she was the only one in it!!!
Back home KIRSTEN was always on the go... always having to get home after work to vaccum the house.
In the kitchen she was an excellent cook and could turn her hand to most dishes... ITALIAN was probably her favourite though she DID NOT enjoy baking.
IN the workplace, KIRSTEN moved on from Gatley Reed to do the books for brother Dean's company W&G Welding Supplies and would continue to book-keep for them when that company was sold on to become IWS and she would later move to work with husband BARRY at JACKSON, BRIERLEY and HARTHEN in their offices in Uppermill.
The shopping bug instilled in the girls from an early age was something they enjoyed immensely as the girls got older ... KIRSTEN,  PHOEBE and LOIS and grandma PHYLLIS would regularly take themselves off to Manchester on shopping expeditions that would take most of the day and often involved a restaurant stop or two along the way.
KIRSTEN was always generous, often choosing to spend on others before herself but she was always immaculately dressed and took great pride in her appearance.
But above all she was an incredibly kind person, so compassionate and someone who just by instinct would take on other people’s worries... she was very much the glue that held everything together and never once complained about her own pains and certainly never looked for sympathy.
Even towards the end, KIRSTEN was more worried about how things were affecting BARRY, the girls and the rest of her family than she was about herself.
Not that she was always serious. Far from it. She was quick-witted... could be cuttingly sarcastic .. and loved to laugh.. something you should all remember when thinking back over her life.
Only recently, she was roaring with laughter when she found out sister-in-law Sarah had bought brother DEAN a "Birds of Prey" holiday.... KIRSTEN thought it was hilarious that Sarah didn't know that though DEAN loves birds .. he has a real phobia of flying birds!
KIRSTEN had no such fears.. was a great dog lover herself and enjoyed taking beagle HONEY for walks... HONEY has certainly missed having KIRSTEN coming down stairs every morning to hand over the treat of a carrot.
Many is the evening where all the family would be crunched up close on the same settee... all four of the DICKSONS plus HONEY the dog.
FAMILY meant everything to KIRSTEN. The trio were her life and what she was put on the planet to do.
She and BARRY have seen their girls grow up into young women they are rightfully very proud of.
PHOEBE is just completing her third year at Cambridge University having studied Biology and Biomedical Science.
And LOIS is a talented freelance graphic designer.
She has already instilled in the girls the joy of finding the right man and enjoying the thrill of having their own family. And so the world turns.
As well as being a proud MUM, KIRSTEN was also Auntie to the offspring of her siblings who have all remained very close.
Dean has Thomas and Patrick and is now married to Sarah.
Thomas has girlfriend Anna and Patrick and Laura have the next generation in tiny Mavae.
Sister Dawn and husband Ian have NICOLA.
Brother Mark lost his wife Christine to cancer ... similarly she was young, only 49.. and their children VICKY and PAUL became very close to KIRSTEN when they had lost their mum.
Vicky and Jamie brought KIRSTEN great nephews in Cole and Jenson
Mark and Trishia have another cousin Olivia.
And KIRSTEN was a loving daughter-in-law to Barry's mum DARLENE and Auntie to BARRY'S sister KIMBERLEY and to her children Alex and Dylan now forging a new life having emigrated to Australia just before the start of lockdown.
Kirsten always referred to BARRY's brother MARK as MARK BLACK... a nod to the fact that he always wears black.
And Kirsten always looked forward to going around the Barry's Nan JOYCE... where they were always offered a ham sandwich. Nan passed away nearly two years ago.
 
KIRSTEN loved all her extended family... and they loved her right back!