Wendy Mitchell: Author and Dementia campaigner

It is with great sadness that the Trust learns of the passing of Wendy Mitchell, whose journey battling young onset dementia has been an inspiration to so many.

Wendy was diagnosed with Young Onset Dementia in 2014 and continued to work for the NHS until March 2015, later becoming involved with our Trust through our research service in 2016. Regularly promoting the Trust’s research and events through her blog, she became not only a Trust Research Champion, but also a key member of our Research Group, including inspiring new members of staff through our Trust induction programme.

Her work will endure through her participation in research studies and her work co-producing our Trust’s research leaflets and ‘My Research Journey’ animated video. Wendy was also a regular Facilitator of our Recovery College dementia workshops and attended our annual Research Conference to share her story.

Wendy was an incredible woman and received wide recognition for her outstanding efforts. She received honorary doctorates from two Universities (University of Hull and Bradford University) and was also honoured with the British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2023 for services to people with dementia.

Always happy to speak and be involved in opportunities to share her experiences, Wendy supported other people both living with dementia or whose family had been affected by it. Through this sharing of information, she appeared on TV and radio many times, and even advised TV programmes on their portrayals of people living with dementia.

Her involvement in services available to those living with dementia led her to being an active member of the national DEEP (Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project) network. She helped design and run community courses in York and East Riding and has presented to clinical students at local Universities.

Never one to limit her own experiences, she raised money for dementia charities through a variety of incredible challenges. From sky diving, standing on a wing of a plane, or walking on hot coals, there was nothing that Wendy would not consider when it came to raising the profile of these charities supporting dementia.

Wendy was capable of so many things, but her resilience and humour were what truly set Wendy apart and gave so many people the encouragement and positivity they really needed. Wendy chronicled her experiences of living with dementia through her daily blog posts and writing two Sunday Times best-selling books. In her final blog she broke the news of her own passing, explaining how she had fought to stay in control throughout every juncture of her diagnosis and life.

By bravely addressing the issue of death in her own inimitable way, Wendy inspired others to speak more openly and share experiences to diminish fears. In her final blog she commented, “To talk about death makes it easier to concentrate on living”.

Cathryn Hart, Assistant Director of Research & Development at the Trust, has been a part of Wendy’s life for many years. She said,

“As well as being a warm and wonderfully caring friend, she was such an amazing lady and a true inspiration to me, our research team and so many more people across the Trust, region and indeed the world. I never failed to be amazed by Wendy’s resilience, her passion for research and her determination to remain independent and to keep finding ways of battling the challenges dementia put in her way. If there was a solution to be found to help her prevent dementia winning, then Wendy would absolutely find it (even at the end).

I’ve personally learnt so much from her and have shared that with friends and family along the way, especially now I have loved ones living with dementia too, and I will go on sharing Wendy’s wisdom. Her books are an incredible read and her generosity to give of her time and experience knew no bounds. Everyone needs a Wendy in their life, and I was so incredibly lucky and honoured to have Wendy in mine!”

Our thoughts are with Wendy’s family and friends at this sad time. Thank you, Wendy, for all you did and what this will continue to do for years to come.

To read more about Wendy’s journey through living with dementia, her blog titled ‘Which me am I today?’ is available here.