A WIDOW whose husband lost his fight with terminal cancer is walking tall in his memory.

Barber John Gilligan, aged 62, died in Bolton Hospice on January 7 after battling oesophageal cancer which spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

His wife Jayne, of Ingleby Close, Westhoughton, has rallied together a team of friends and family to complete Bolton Hospice’s Midnight Memories Walk in his honour.

The 57-year-old Bolton Council worker said: “John was the life and soul of the party. He loved family and loved his garden.

“He was taken into Bolton Hospice on January 5, about 39 hours before he died.

“It was a lovely place and the care John received was exemplary. The staff were brilliant with the visitors too, nothing was too much trouble.”

John and Jayne, both divorcees, met 13 years ago and had lived together since 2007. They tied the knot at the Bolholt Hotel in Bury in 2013.

John was originally diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, which responded well to treatment, but this spread and it was liver cancer which eventually took his life.

Jayne, who completed the Midnight Memories Walk in 2010, 2011 and 2012, is mum to 32-year-old Sarah and Andrew, aged 29 but John did not have children of his own.

She said her husband, who was originally from Hulme and Withington in Manchester and ran A Cut Ahead barber’s shop in Urmston, was “delighted” to be ‘Grandad John’ to 12-year-old Sophie, Jacob, aged four, three-year-old Louis and Ava, aged eight months.

Jayne, Sarah and Sophie will take on the Midnight Walk alongside Andrew’s partner Hayley Miller,   John’s sister Jean Hill, John’s niece Heather Hill and Jayne’s friends Gaynah Butler, Diane Blakely and Sylvia McGuinness.

Staff at Bolton Hospice hope their 9th Midnight Memories Walk, set to take place on Saturday, June 20, will see more than 1,500 people take part.

The popular 8-mile sponsored walk – Bolton Hospice’s biggest fundraising event – has raised more than £1 million since it was first staged.

The walk will begin at 10pm, an earlier start time than previously to allow more families to take part, and the first walkers will return at midnight.

Another new feature will see all participants able to purchase LED wristbands which will illuminate at midnight in a “magical moment” in tribute to lost loved ones.

Maria Passarello, events manager at Bolton Hospice, said: “We are so passionate about this event and those that take part are so inspiring.

“This year we would love to see more people joining us so that together we can raise vital funds for the people of Bolton to receive our specialist care and support.”

To register: go to boltonhospice.org.uk or call the events team on 01204 663055 extension three.