A 94-year-old woman who has helped hundreds of people by caring for others for 50 years has decided that the time has come to retire.
Helen Lyon has spent the last 36 years of her caring career volunteering at Cruse Bereavement Care where she has helped and supported hundreds of bereaved people in South Derbyshire.
To mark the milestone, the Derby and Burton branch of the organisation held a special celebration morning for Helen, to thank her properly for her help and support over the years.
Helen, from Doveridge, said: "I initially started the volunteering when a secretary for Cruse asked me if I would be interested and I said that I was. People needed more than just social talking to help them to grieve.
"My eldest son had just died from a brain tumour and we couldn't get help anywhere, so I knew what it was like.
"I've been volunteering for 50 years at least, 36 of which were at Cruse."
Helen spoke of how some of the people that she helped were so distressed that they couldn't go out and meet people normally. She was involved in helping those people recover and live their lives normally.
She said: "It is wonderful when you see their faces light up after they tell you that they went out and saw someone that they knew without having to be taken by someone else.
"The send-off that Cruse gave me was very nice, and I was surrounded by the people I knew the best there. They were all invited over for a coffee morning and I had a very good time."
Talking about the future, Helen said: "I don't know what I will do. I like to think that I will be able to volunteer again, but I don't know if I shall."
Pam Sutton, chairman of Derby Cruse Bereavement Care, said: "Helen has always been a very loyal supporter of Cruse for the last 36 years.
"She was originally a registered nurse and she and another lady thought that there was a need for better support services in the Burton and Derby area. They founded the Burton Cruse organisation which ultimately merged with Derby Cruse to create what we have today.
"She has had many hundreds of clients over the years and has gained qualifications to work with children from age five and upwards in Burton, Derby and the whole of Southern Derbyshire.
"Her whole demeanour is lovely, kind, very modest and very humble. She is a big source of inspiration to all our 70 Cruse volunteers, especially through her continuation of volunteering to such a great age.
"We are very sorry to see her go and will miss her tremendously, but we are very, very grateful for all the work she has done for us."
Not only did she support bereaved adults and children, Helen also spent many years visiting bereaved prisoners in Sudbury and Foston prisons to help them to deal with the death of a loved one.
This summer, Helen and her husband Tony received the Bishop's Badge for services to the church and community through her volunteering work.
When Helen stopped driving a couple of years ago, Tony took up the job of driving her to her Cruse meetings and appointments.
