Friday the 13th may not seem the best day to throw yourself out of a plane for charity.
But that is exactly what three women from the Great Yarmouth area will be doing when they skydive in memory of a man who died from cancer.
Post women Nic Clifford and Sonia Self and Belinda Gillman, owner of the California Tavern pub in California, are skydiving to raise money for Marie Curie in memory of keen motorcyclist Mark Jarvis from Ormesby St Margaret who died of cancer in August.
In April following a doctor’s appointment and scan, it was revealed that Mr Jarvis, known as Jarv to his friends and who worked at Claxton Engineering, had a large tumour and that cancer had spread through his intestinal tract.
While in hospital in July, he made plans about what he wanted to achieve, and was determined to live at least six more months.
He wanted to buy a new Ducati motorbike for a final track day, which he would give to his motor biking friends, and he would skydive to raise money for Marie Curie.
Mrs Clifford, who knew Mr Jarvis for seven years, said: “Talking about our skydive made him grin from ear to ear, so he would have laughed a lot to know that we were jumping out of a plane on Friday, October 13 in his memory whilst raising money for his chosen charity.”
As well as raising funds through the skydive Mrs Gillman organised a fundraising event at the California Tavern last Friday, which featured a raffle, live music and a barbecue, and has a collection pot at the bar.
Mr Jarvis had lost part of his left leg in an accident on the A47 in May 2016 and as a 51-year-old he met St John Ambulance employee Wayne McGeary in February this year to thank him for treating him by the roadside.
His motorbike had burst into flames after a collision near Cantley.
Marie Curie has almost 2,100 nurses, who work in the community to provide free end of life care to 94pc of the UK population.
Marie Curie has nine hospices across the country and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
People can make donations in support of the skydivers by visiting www.justgiving.com/nic-clifford or by searching for Belinda Gillman on Facebook.
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