Sue, Chris, Ben and Luke Turner

I first met Jessica in the mid 1980’s at one of the family weekends in Birmingham and could not believe the commitment and energy she put into her support of deafblind people and their families. Much has been written about her years of tireless work for Sense from the beginning and later as Chairman for many years, but I also remember the side of her that she revealed during a trip with Sense International to India when she told about her days as a newly trained teacher for the deaf when she and a friend travelled round India (in the days before gap years were ever thought of) not only discovering what life was like for deaf people in India, but also having many adventures that would make any parent’s hair curl!!

I feel privileged to have worked with Jessica, first as a trustee and later as one of the joint vice-chairs, but personally one of the main influences Jessica had on my life was in my aspirations for my deafblind sons. An era has ended with Jessica’s death, but our family will always remember her tireless encouragement and the real belief that there was a future for Ben and Luke and that will continue for ever.