Grieving wife leads tributes ahead of funeral of Stoke-on-Trent businessman

The funeral arrangements have been announced for businessman and MND campaigner James Gilliver. A service will be held at Birches Crematorium, in Cheshire, on Thursday, November 21 at 12.15pm.

The service will be a celebration of James’ life and anyone attending is asked to wear bright colours, in particular orange, his favourite colour. The family has requested that instead of buying flowers, friends make a donation to the Staffordshire Search and Rescue Team, a charity which James had supported over many years.

The 62-year-old, from Mow Cop, died in October from complications related to Motor Neurone Disease. He was well known in North Staffordshire as a Director of M and M Technologies, of Longton, and had worked in IT for over 30 years, previously as owner and founder of Codesnap.

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James was diagnosed with MND at the start of this year and spoke about the ‘postcode lottery’ which meant some sufferers were unable to get council-funded physiotherapy or public-sector grants towards home adaptations.

He called on candidates at the 2024 General Election to sign a pledge to support reforms proposed by the MND Association designed to ensure every sufferer from the incurable disease could live out their final days in their own homes.

He leaves wife Lisa, children Henry and Ashley, and stepdaughter Jessica.

Lisa said: “I want to thank all of James' friends and business associates for the respect and support James received over recent months. It is a testimony to James' hard work and dedication to those he knew as friends and his clients during a long career in business.

“Particular mentions must go to business friends at Bennett Architectural and the Castle Comfort Centre, both in Newcastleunder- Lyme, who had spontaneously launched crowdfunding campaigns for an external lift to support James. If donors agree, we want donations to go to charities chosen by the companies involved.

“In recent months, James worked to demonstrate the need for more support for MND sufferers. However, his heart truly belonged to the Staffordshire Search & Rescue Team (SSART) which works alongside the emergency services to locate missing people. The SSART team, which we were both members of, is fully reliant on voluntary donations.”

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