The fullest of lives for Philippa

Philippa Mahon’s keen sense of adventure and love of a challenge saw her travel the world, for work, leisure and latterly, in a fund-raising effort to raise money for the Rosemere Cancer Foundation which helped her during her illness.Born on St Patrick’s Day, 1970, Philippa moved with her family to Stonyhurst aged 13, when her father Phil took up a post at Stonyhurst College. She attended Westholme school in Blackburn, where she enjoyed many different sports, particularly horse riding and skiing. Her love of adventure saw her go on to attain the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.In her late teens and in lieu of university, Philippa went to experience life in Spain, living with a family friends and their seven children for a while near Madrid.Philippa’s job as a Sports Event Manager for high profile events such as the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup saw her travel all over the world, including Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Australia, New Zealand, India, Greece and Azerbaijan.It was on one such trip in Qatar in 2012 when Philippa realised that something wasn’t right and she returned home. Diagnosed with breast cancer, she underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy which initially sent the cancer into remission.Philippa began to plan how she could raise money for Rosemere as a thanks for her care, and undertook her third marathon in 2014. She also took on the mammoth task of walking the National Three Peaks after her secondary diagnosis and four months into chemotherapy, taking in Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mount Snowdon over the course of three days. These activities were just a few of the major achievements throughout Philippa’s life, which also included trekking the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu, climbing Mount Kinabalu in Borneo and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and riding more than 100 miles around Lake Taupo in New Zealand. Philippa spent her final days at the East Lancashire Hospice where she received amazing care. She leaves loving mother Pat and father Phil, brother Chris, sister-in-law Justine and nieces Amy and Kitty.