Family makes donation in memory of 'fun loving' son

Howard and Susi Waters with Julia's House fundraiser Karen Harrison

The family of a "fun-loving" boy who died from a brain tumour, has donated thousands of pounds to a hospice in his memory.

Sam Waters, 10, from Devizes in Wiltshire, died on 10 September 2004 having first been diagnosed and treated for leukaemia aged three.

His family thought he was doing well until he was later diagnosed with a brain tumour that he could not be treated for because of the aggressive cancer treatment he had previously undergone.

Sam's parents, Howard and Susi Waters have given £15,000 to Julia's House children's hospice. The charity recently announced it was facing a £1m deficit and has called on the government to provide more funding for children's hospices.

Sam Waters (right) with his younger brother

Mr Waters said: “Sam was a fun-loving boy.

"He loved life, loved his family and friends, and he had an absolute passion for trains.

"He had a beautiful singing voice as well, which his younger brother Matthew is lucky to also have.”

When he was just three Sam’s family discovered he had leukaemia.

After two years of treatment and a bone marrow transplant, it seemed as though the former Wansdyke Primary School pupil would make a full recovery until the brain tumour was diagnosed.

“Unfortunately, because Sam had already had such aggressive treatment for his leukaemia, there was nothing that could be done to help him,” Mr Waters said.

His family set up the Sam Waters Memorial Fund to help child-related causes.

Mr Waters said: “Since Sam died, friends and family have been very kind donating money.

"We've raised £33,000 in total, which has helped lots of local families and groups.

“This year, with Sam’s 30th birthday milestone, we decided to make a bigger donation with most of the remaining funds."

Sam Waters had a beautiful singing voice, his father said

He added: "We really wanted the donations to be used in a meaningful way for local families and Julia’s House was a very logical and obvious choice of charity for us."

Julia's House, based in Devizes and Corfe Mullen, offers both practical and emotional support to families caring for a child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition at home, in the community or at its hospices.

Chief executive Martin Edwards said recently state money made up 8% of its income, which he said was not enough for such an important service.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said more than £350m had been available to hospices since 2020.