Let us give thanks for the life of a truly remarkable and courageous woman. The death of Sheila Hurton at Princess Alice Hospice on 28 July is a huge loss to all of her family and also to the Hospice and the entire hospice movement worldwide. Sheila was a tireless supporter and fundraiser for hospice care. She used her enthusiasm, her considerable musical talents and her deep Christian faith to act as an effective ambassador for hospice care. From the very early days of fundraising for the Princess Alice Hospice capital appeal, Sheila quietly but firmly provided energy and sheer hard work In 1988, Sheila organised a concert of Haydn's Creation from scratch at Christ Church in Esher. The result was a remarkable and moving performance, but it was also the template for what was to grow into the amazing phenomenon of Voices for Hospices (VfH). VfH was the embodiment of Sheila’s conviction that hospice care was the right of all people at the end life throughout the entire world. Together with her small group of volunteers, Sheila turned this idea into the amazing biennial performance in October of a choral work in every time zone, beginning in New Zealand and ending in Hawaii. The aim was not only to aid local fundraising, but perhaps more importantly to raise hospice awareness in parts of the world where the environment was far from conducive to its philosophy. Voices for Hospices meant that Sheila became a travelling ambassador for the volunteering and fundraising component of Hospice Care. During this phase of her work she became aware of the huge problems of the fledgling hospice in Sierra Leone, where the struggle to achieve any type of care was all but abandoned due to the bitter civil war. Sheila adopted the Shepherd’s Hospice in Freetown and made certain that the staff there never lost hope and were always supported by their wealthy cousins in the United Kingdom. She will be mourned greatly in Sierra Leone. Sheila was a trustee of Princess Alice Hospice who took her duties very seriously. She brought to the trustee body both wisdom and great practicality. She presented the voice of the patient and family. During Sheila’s last illness, she continued with as many of her activities as she could. She would never deny that she knew full well that she would not survive her illness. However, she took the constructive, practical view, that if active treatment could prolong useful and enjoyable life then it was worth having, but if the cost in side effects was too great then she would do without. What more eloquent way of demonstrating hospice philosophy is there?