Frank Gifford Ashton

Frank Gifford Ashton, born on 13th February 1950, was a devoted husband, father of four, grandfather of eight, and a hardworking man whose life was defined by family, humour and quiet generosity.

His sudden diagnosis with a glioblastoma brain tumour in 2022 came as a devastating shock to those who knew him as fit, active and independent. Sadly, Giff died on 22nd July 2022, surrounded by family.

Here is Frank’s story as told by his son Paul…

I recall my first memory of something being wrong was at my daughter Elsie’s second birthday in August 2022.

Dad came over with Mum, Carol, and mentioned he’d had an issue with his left arm dropping and his left foot. At the time, we put it to one side because it had gone away. We had a lovely day and went down to the meadow. He was fit, healthy and completely independent.

But on 21st September 2022, Dad went to the GP and was told it was a trapped nerve, possibly causing the drop foot. We recommended he go to Kettering A&E as soon as he could. When he went to the hospital, they referred him for a CT scan and that’s when they first found a brain tumour, which was later diagnosed as a glioblastoma.

It was very scary. None of us were expecting it.

To go from a pain in your arm and drop foot to being told you have a brain tumour none of us saw that coming. We were blindsided.

Dad was sent to Oxford for neurosurgery and underwent an awake craniotomy. He even sent us a picture during surgery with a thumbs up; it was quite incredible. After surgery, they were told the surgeons were never going to be able to remove all of the tumour, but they removed a vast amount, which bought him some time.

He then underwent radiotherapy. Later in the year, after another scan, he was given a prognosis of six months. We were all devastated.

From that point, Dad’s focus shifted. More than anything, he wanted to get to his 50th wedding anniversary on 3rd June 2023. That became his goal, and the family organised a big party with friends and relatives.

It was sunny and such a lovely day. It was tinged with sadness, but Dad made a beautiful speech. He knew what was coming, and he got the chance to say goodbye to everyone.

In the final stages, Dad declined chemotherapy because of the impact it would have had on his quality of life.

Then he slowly began to decline. He wanted to stay at home so we made sure he was comfortable. Dad started to struggle with his speech and gradually lost more mobility and function. We adapted the house and put in a stair lift. A bed was brought in, and towards the end he began drifting in and out of consciousness.

Dad died on 22nd July 2023 surrounded by family and love.

Dad had worked from the age of 16 as a sheet metal worker at Whitfield Wylie and later went on to work at Timpsons making shoe repair machines across the country and globally. He had a great sense of humour and always had time for people.

He’d do odd jobs and put his metalworking skills to good use. He was so selfless he would do anything for anyone. He loved cars and would tinker and weld them while bringing up us four boys – me, Steven, Philip and Alan.

He’s survived by eight grandchildren and in his memory, my brother-in-law Mark is running the London Marathon in April to raise vital funds for research.

Brain tumours are indiscriminate. One in three people knows someone affected. But as a cancer, it’s woefully overlooked and underfunded. We didn’t know much about brain cancer until Dad was diagnosed. We still don’t know how he got it or what caused it, and there weren’t many treatment options in terms of a cure.

We desperately need more information and understanding.

Paul Ashton
February 2026 

One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.