(Sharon Brady and Paul Cheeter, brother of Sharon)
Sharon Brady was totally unprepared for the deep shock and enormous sense of grief she suffered when her husband, James, died in 2021 after a sudden heart attack at the age of just 57.
Since then, Sharon, with the help of her brother Paul, has raised more than £25,000 to have 15 defibrillators installed across the south of England.
Sharon met James in 1988. “It was a whirlwind romance,” she said. “Everyone said it wouldn’t last, but we had 33 wonderful years together.”
James set up a number of local businesses, including Universal Plumbing Supplies, that Sharon took over when James passed away. James also helped Sharon, alongside her brother Paul set up Independent Plumbing Supplies.
Although James had been diagnosed with angina, his heart attack came as a complete shock. “He had been for blood tests the week he died,” continued Sharon. “He went back to see the doctor but after having a couple of heart attacks that weekend, he died on 12th November 2021. I just couldn’t get my head around it. The suddenness of it.”
To start with, Sharon thought she wouldn’t be able to carry on without him. “It was me who took charge most of the time, but he was my security blanket and he was always there. He was my sounding board,” she said.
“I just thought: ‘I can’t carry on – I don’t feel strong enough.’ The shock was terrible. But I thought I needed to keep busy. James and I have triplets, and I knew I needed to keep going for them.”
As she began to come to terms with what had happened, Sharon felt she would like to give something back. “I wanted to help save somebody’s life,” she said. She started with the Southampton 10k run and donated her sponsorship money to charity. But she wanted to do more.
Sharon and Paul subsequently started a charity ball and had the help of ex Saints’ striker Nicky Banger. Paul said: “We knew that we would raise a fair bit of money, as James was a hugely popular guy, and had a lot of friends but we were shocked when we saw we’d raised more than £22,500.”
By this point Sharon and Paul had teamed up with Heartbeat, the leading cardiac charity in Hampshire. It was from the Heartbeat team that Sharon thought of the idea of buying defibrillators with the money raised after hearing a talk from the charity’s CEO Mark Ind.
Mark said: “It’s been such a privilege to work alongside Sharon and Paul and assist in their aim of getting as many defibrillators installed at as many locations as possible. Having quick and easy access to defibrillators in the event of a medical emergency is essential. They are doing vital and much needed work, and we’ll be backing their efforts every step of the way.”
The event, called the James Brady Memorial Ball is back for a second year. This time it will be held at the Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour, on September 28th. “James would be so proud. He was a very generous person, even though he was shy, he always put himself out there. He even helped several plumbers set up businesses. Everyone loved him.” said Sharon.
Now, James’ legacy can be seen across the South. Sharon and Paul, with the help of Heartbeat have installed more than 15 defibrillators from Littlehampton to the New Forest.
Despite missing her husband every day, Sharon has some beautiful memories of their time together. “I remember him on holiday, wearing his Saints shirt and his baseball cap back to front every day, just enjoying himself. He’d tell stupid jokes and he would take a photo of the sunset every night. Life was never dull.”
The couple had triplets, who are now 25 years old: Tom, Josh and Hannah. “Josh is just like his dad,” said Sharon. “Two peas in a pod. Southampton born and bred, they were both Saints fans and season ticket holders.” Tom took part in the Three Peaks Challenge at the end of May with a friend, to raise money for Countess Mountbatten in memory of his friend’s father. While Sharon and her daughter Hannah will be climbing the O2 in October all in aid of Heartbeat.