Funeral held for Headway couple who died within three weeks of each other

A couple who launched a charity to help people with brain injuries have died less than three weeks apart with a joint funeral service for them held this week at the West Suffolk Crematorium.

Bill and Stella Jackaman, who lived in Onehouse, won a national Headway UK award in 2014 for their outstanding contribution to the organisation.

Stella had been working on a head injuries ward in West Suffolk when her father died as a result of a brain injury suffered in a road accident.

In 1985, she and husband Bill decided to put their understanding of head injuries to good use. With the help of friend Sheila Sturgeon the couple set up Headway West Suffolk.

In the autumn of 2014 the couple retired at the last AGM for Headway West Suffolk before it merged with Headway Ipswich and East Suffolk to form Headway Suffolk.

The couple had been involved for more than 30 years, with Stella as manager and Bill as chairman. Stella was 92 when she died on December 26, and Bill was 93 when he passed away on January 14. The funeral service was held on Monday.

The accolade the Jackamans won four years ago was the Stephen McAleese Outstanding Contribution to Headway Award. It was presented at a ceremony held at The Dorchester Hotel in London a few weeks before Christmas, 2014.

The annual event organised by Headway – the brain injury association – celebrates the inspirational achievements of survivors of brain injury and their carers in the face of adversity. It also honours the outstanding contributions individuals, such as the Suffolk couple, make to the charity.