Clare Mauremootoo’s life was flipped upside down in 2006 when she was diagnosed with motor neuronopathy, an incurable degenerative condition that causes gradual muscle weakening.
With no remedy available, Clare wondered how she would support her beloved husband, John, and their two sons, Ben and Jack.
Clare spent much of the last few months of her life looking for a new spouse for her husband who would be loving and supportive of them all.
Even though his beloved wife Clare fought for her life in the Weston Hospice of Somerset, John put up a brave front for her. She was resolute in her devotion to preparing him for life without her, from urging him to be open to new love to actively assisting him in finding someone to help nurture and care for their two sons.
Clare went so far as to call hospice personnel to set up a day for John to fulfill this commitment. Despite his reservations, she hoped he could move on and find happiness with another lady.
Despite the pain of her circumstances, Clare was eager to assist John in finding a new life partner. She went out of her way to arrange dates for him with caregivers at the Weston Hospice in Somerset, where she died.
Understanding that he would eventually have to adjust to life without her, she pushed him to consider the possibility of finding love again and sharing his life with someone who could give care for their two sons.
On the other hand, John was too overwhelmed by his grief over his wife’s death to take this step. Undaunted, Clare maintained hope that he would soon be able to do so and even contacted hospice personnel to arrange prospective dates for them.
John and Clare met in 1993, instantly falling in love and marrying two years later. When John was hesitant to start dating again after her health began to deteriorate, Clare stressed that it didn’t matter how he found someone else as long as he was happy.
Clare made one last Valentine’s Day with John before passing away four days later, assuring him she trusted him to care for their sons. Despite his grief, John continued his regular activities, such as getting the boys ready for school and cooking dinner, giving him the impression that Clare was still with them in spirit.
Since his late wife, Clare, encouraged him to find love again before she died, John has been looking for someone special. In May, he registered on a dating service and met Julie Macfarlane, a newly divorced nurse with two children of her own:
Isobel, who was six at the time, and John, who was ten. Despite their initial reservations about their father dating another lady, the boys eventually warmed up to Julie and her children over six months.
The two families moved live together in March 2008 and married four years later. Isobel was a bridesmaid during the wedding, while their three boys served as best men.
John told them about Clare’s illness and how, despite everything, she wanted them to be happy. He even went so far as to believe she looked down on them from above, smiling.
