Ambassador: Gary Andrews

Gary is an animator, illustrator and film-maker who lives in Surrey. He has illustrated many books, his work appears regularly in Private Eye and for several years he directed the popular kid’s TV show ‘Fireman Sam’. 

He met Joy at a local Amateur Dramatics company where they had a shared passion for Shakespeare. They fell in love and spent 19 years together, marrying in 2004. But, in 2017, Joy died unexpectedly as a result of sepsis, aged just 41 and leaving him the sole parent to their two children Lily and Ben, who were just 10 and seven at the time. 

For about a year and a half he had been keeping a Doodle Diary online, documenting everyday life and he continued to do this after Joy’s death, using it as a way to explore his (and the family’s) grief and to process the feelings, as well as observing the highs and lows of single parenting. These Doodles have since gained a huge online following leading to several TV, radio and podcast appearances where Gary talks about the importance of being open and honest about the whole grieving process. 

This has also led to being invited to be an ambassador for Winston’s Wish (now part of Child Bereavement UK). He is hugely honoured to be asked to take on this role, especially as he has seen first-hand just what a huge impact losing a parent can have on children. He hopes that he can help with encouraging the healthy dialogue about death and maybe raise the odd smile along the way.