Valda and Trevor Waterfield, both born and raised in Darnall, were married in 1964, and celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary in 2024. Today, they are both patients on St Luke’s In Patient Centre – and are the first married couple to be admitted together in the hospice’s 55 year history.
The couple first met as teenagers in their local park, and the rest as they say, is history. Sheffield has always been home, but together they’ve travelled the world, ticking off bucket-list adventures from the Great Wall of China, to the Egyptian pyramids and The Rocky Mountains.
They’ve always done everything together, and their being together at the end of life is no exception.
“We’ve lived the best of lives together, and done everything we wanted to do,” reminisce the couple.
“We’ve always supported St Luke’s, and said we’d want to end up here if we could,” says Trevor. “We feel very lucky that we are still able to be together, and we both feel contented, safe and peaceful here.”
“It’s a general feeling of safety, and wellbeing that we didn’t have before,” continued Valda. “I don’t know how we would have coped without them.”
St Luke’s support extends beyond the care provided to Trevor and Valda, ensuring that those closest to them also have the same wrap-around support.
“I wouldn’t have been able to look after them myself,” explains their niece Michelle. “When my aunt and uncle were admitted to St Luke’s, it was such a relief. Knowing that they would get the proper care and support they needed here made such a difference. I could be family again, and not a carer.”
Their days at St Luke’s are now filled with visits from loved ones, home‑cooked meals tailored to their needs, and the comfort of a private room where they can stay safely together in each other’s company.
And the message they want to leave with the people of Sheffield is simple. That the support and generosity of local people, makes stories like theirs possible.
Just 23% of St Luke’s running costs are covered by NHS funding, meaning this year St Luke’s has to raise over £11million to continue providing palliative and end of life care and support to thousands of people across Sheffield each year.
Valda and Trevor’s wish is that others will donate to St Luke’s so that more families can experience the same exceptional care, dignity and peace as they have.
To find out more about St Luke’s and how you can support, visit www.stlukeshospice.org.uk