Jane Emily Tomlinson, (née Goward; 21 February 1964 – 3 September 2007) was an amateur English athlete who raised £1.85 million for charity by completing a series of athletic challenges, despite suffering from terminal cancer.

Having had treatment for breast cancer in 1991, at age 26, the disease returned in 2000 throughout her body. Tomlinson died in 2007, aged 43.

Early life

Jane Emily Goward was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1964, the sixth of ten children of a dentist.

Last years

In July and August 2006, Tomlinson spent nine weeks cycling 3,800 miles across the United States, raising £250,000.

Having published The Luxury of Time in 2005, she released the second volume of her memoirs You Can't Take It With You in 2006. Having had four courses of chemotherapy, she developed chronic heart disease.

Her Requiem Mass, which was conducted by Arthur Roche, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leeds, was held at the Roman Catholic Leeds Cathedral on 14 September 2007. Later that day she was cremated in a private family ceremony.

Legacy

thumb|Plaque erected by the Yorkshire Society

On 15 November 2007 Tomlinson's ten-year-old son collected her CBE from then Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) at Buckingham Palace.

In March 2011, train operator Northern Rail named a Class 158 DMU no. 158797 Jane Tomlinson.

In March 2015, a plaque in honour of Tomlinson, erected by the Yorkshire Society, was unveiled at Victoria Gardens in Leeds, an area she cycled through on some of her fundraisers.

Her name is one of those featured on the sculpture Ribbons, unveiled in 2024.

References

  • Jane's Appeal