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| Stephanie Park obituary | Stephanie Park obituary |
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| My mother, Stephanie Park, who has died aged 72, was a nurse and a senior midwife from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who became a disability rights campaigner, a world disabled target-shooting champion and great patron of sport. | My mother, Stephanie Park, who has died aged 72, was a nurse and a senior midwife from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, who became a disability rights campaigner, a world disabled target-shooting champion and great patron of sport. |
| She lost her leg in 1981, after suffering from complications related to thrombosis, following a car accident in the 1970s. This transformed her life. She set up Dial (Disability Information Advice Line) in Wakefield in 1983 with her friend Sylvia Lockwood and the service really took off, empowering previously marginalised people. | She lost her leg in 1981, after suffering from complications related to thrombosis, following a car accident in the 1970s. This transformed her life. She set up Dial (Disability Information Advice Line) in Wakefield in 1983 with her friend Sylvia Lockwood and the service really took off, empowering previously marginalised people. |
| She also gained a passion for sport following the accident and went on to become the world disabled champion in target shooting (.177 rifle) in 1987 and the winner of the Cardiff Open Shoot in 1989. This was the first sports event in which disabled and non-disabled competitors took part equally. She was also a world champion athlete in field sports and archery. | She also gained a passion for sport following the accident and went on to become the world disabled champion in target shooting (.177 rifle) in 1987 and the winner of the Cardiff Open Shoot in 1989. This was the first sports event in which disabled and non-disabled competitors took part equally. She was also a world champion athlete in field sports and archery. |
| A community activist, Stephanie passionately believed that disabled people should not just get rights and benefits, but should have the courage and opportunities to achieve higher things for themselves; and that is why she moved her considerable energy and enthusiasm into sports. She was an adviser for the Sports Aid Foundation during the 1990s. As part of her role, she helped many athletes who participated in the Olympic and Paralympics games in London in 2012. | A community activist, Stephanie passionately believed that disabled people should not just get rights and benefits, but should have the courage and opportunities to achieve higher things for themselves; and that is why she moved her considerable energy and enthusiasm into sports. She was an adviser for the Sports Aid Foundation during the 1990s. As part of her role, she helped many athletes who participated in the Olympic and Paralympics games in London in 2012. |
| She was born Stephanie Hopley in Goole, east Yorkshire, went to school at Goole grammar school and trained as a nurse in York – nicknamed "Hoppy", she was a high-spirited student who was once banned from the city's Mount pub for dancing on the tables. She married Geoff Park in 1968, and she became a district nurse in Wakefield in the 1960s and 70s, and eventually a senior midwife, responsible for the maternity units at night, at Pontefract General Infirmary's maternity unit. As a little boy, I remember singing Christmas carols around the incubators at the hospital and helping to make stuffed toys for the babies born there. | She was born Stephanie Hopley in Goole, east Yorkshire, went to school at Goole grammar school and trained as a nurse in York – nicknamed "Hoppy", she was a high-spirited student who was once banned from the city's Mount pub for dancing on the tables. She married Geoff Park in 1968, and she became a district nurse in Wakefield in the 1960s and 70s, and eventually a senior midwife, responsible for the maternity units at night, at Pontefract General Infirmary's maternity unit. As a little boy, I remember singing Christmas carols around the incubators at the hospital and helping to make stuffed toys for the babies born there. |
| I also recall the two of us holding collection tins raising money for the BPSA, of which she was the secretary for many years. One man putting money into her tin asked what BPSA stood for. Mum proudly said: "The British Paraplegic Shooting Association." "What?" the man replied, incredulously. "You shoot paraplegics?" | I also recall the two of us holding collection tins raising money for the BPSA, of which she was the secretary for many years. One man putting money into her tin asked what BPSA stood for. Mum proudly said: "The British Paraplegic Shooting Association." "What?" the man replied, incredulously. "You shoot paraplegics?" |
| Stephanie retired due to ill health in 1981. After Geoff's death in 1997, I found a job nearby so I could look after her, as her care needs were becoming more severe. But I never had to worry about her being alone while I was at work because she knew so many people that there was always someone keeping her company. She brought sunshine into the lives of all who knew her. | Stephanie retired due to ill health in 1981. After Geoff's death in 1997, I found a job nearby so I could look after her, as her care needs were becoming more severe. But I never had to worry about her being alone while I was at work because she knew so many people that there was always someone keeping her company. She brought sunshine into the lives of all who knew her. |
| She is survived by myself and by her brother, Rodney. | She is survived by myself and by her brother, Rodney. |
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