ANNIE London has volunteered for the British Heart Foundation for 21 years since her partner died from a heart attack.
Folk singer Tony Irvine suffered a heart attack after he spent an evening entertaining friends at the couple's home, six years after undergoing a triple-bypass operation.
He died a week later in Sheffield's Northern General Hospital.
Annie, now 6
4, said: "His triple-bypass gave him six extra years of good life.
"If it wasn't for the BHF's research he would have died before he was 50."
Annie, of Banner Cross, is the BHF's In Memoriam secretary for Sheffield and liaises with funeral directors across the city when people make donations to the BHF in lieu of flowers.
Annie believes her work is of the utmost importance and encour-ages people to volunteer.
She said: "I do know what grieving feels like. The money people donate helps research, which could help people to live.
"I will carry on volunteering until I'm no longer able to."
Sheffield mother-of-two Jeanette Nunnington decided to start volunteering after the sudden death of her husband.
The 53-year-old, of Loxley, lost her husband Andrew to an aortic aneurysm five years ago when he was only 47.
"He lived a healthy lifestyle, didn't smoke. He was very clean living, but there was no warning," Jeanette said.
She contacted the BHF after her husband's death because she was worried whether the condition could be inherited by the couple's children.
"The reassurances we've had have been great," she said. "Prior to that I had almost no knowledge of the BHF and what they did."
Jeanette, who works in the student services department of Sheffield's City College, now volunteers as a BHF Community Ambassador.
Her work involves visiting local organisations which are considering contributing to the BHF, and seeing how they can help to raise sponsorship and awareness.
Got a view? Leave your comment below.Buy The Star - Monday to Saturday - for local news, sport, features and ads. To subscribe CLICK HEREREAD MOREMain news indexYour lettersFeaturesSouth Yorkshire's environmental newsKids ZoneMore business newsMore Rotherham newsMore Doncaster newsMore Barnsley newsLatest sport
