Legacy of an ‘incredible woman’ who touched the lives of many in Storrington

Liz Greenfield - whose family have been prominent business owners in the village for centuries - died on Friday February 1, just weeks after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.

Liz, 62, owned and ran the Storrington sewing shop Sew Something for the past five years. Now her customers, friends and family have pledged to fulfill her final wishes of creating and making special fabric bags to help other cancer patients.

The bags are used as covers for medical syringe drivers which provide patients with 24-hour medication and allow them to move around more freely while attached to the drivers.

Liz’s daughter Lorraine Coram said a lot of people were now making the bags. “It’s really exciting and a legacy that mum wanted to leave.”

She said Liz herself had benefitted massively from using a bag. “For the short time she had to wear it, the syringe driver bag was an absolute godsend. It gave her dignity and the ability to move about without the machine and her illness being on show.”

Now a huge wave of public support in Storrington has seen an ‘amazing’ number of people making their own bags to hand over to hospices and hospitals in memory of Liz. “Mum would be smiling from ear to ear,” said Lorraine.

Liz’s sister in law Jen Skinner has set up a Facebook page called Crifty Crafty which gives details of how to make the bags and instructions can also be found on https://youtu.be/kycyH0Hs_Nk

Liz fought a brave fight after first being diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2015. She was given the all-clear 18 months later, but sadly the disease returned with a vengeance last December. Liz and her family were given the devastating news that it had spread to her bones, lungs and liver, and was terminal.

Now friends are determined that Liz’s memory lives on in the #SewSomethingSyringeBags campaign. Liz herself had a lifetime love of sewing and used to make all her own children’s clothes when they were little. She also made dresses for others, and also reached out to children in Africa by making clothes for girls there.

But it was from horticulture that Liz, for many years, made her living. She was an award-winning garden designer and had competed at the annual Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show.

In 2013 she also appeared as a gardener on the TV show Secret Agent with Phil Spencer, also famed for his Location Location Location show.

Liz returned to her first love of sewing when she opened her Storrington shop. Daughter Lorraine said the syringe driver bag campaign would remember ‘just how incredible’ Liz was. “We are very lucky that she was our mum. People always say that their mums are special, but when I look at the way people I have never even met are talking about mum, it is really lovely. It is so clear that she really touched people in the community.”

When Liz was initially diagnosed with cancer, she and her family organised a special fundraising tea at the Sew Something shop and raised a massive £14,000 for cancer care charity. Now the family is asking that, instead of funeral flowers, people make donations to St Wilfrid’s Hospice in Chichester.

Liz’s funeral will be held at Chichester Crematorium on February 25 at 12.30pm. Her family are asking that people do not wear black and say that they would love people to wear any clothes that LIz made for them or with them.

As well as daughter Lorraine and her husband Martyn Coram, Liz leaves husband Dave Soal; daughter Amanda Stoner-Wang and son-in-law Yulin; son Paul Stoner; step children Jodie Stevens and Adam Soal; grandchildren Delilah and Harriet Stoner-Wang; brother Bill Skinner and his wife Jen.