Glenda Rees from Cadoxton, Barry, was looking forward to an extra special Christmas with her daughter Gemma but instead, she is planning Gemma’s funeral after she died suddenly from cardiac arrest.

Gemma Rees, 42, a mother of four who worked as a carer for young people with autism at Beechwood College in Sully, passed away unexpectedly on 14 November.

Mum Glenda, who is distraught at having lost her only daughter after losing both her husband and son in the last few years, can’t afford to pay for Gemma’s funeral so a family friend has set up a Go Fund Me page to make sure that Gemma has a fitting tribute.

Glenda said: “Gemma wasn’t one in a million, she was one in a zillion, there will never be another Gemma.

“Gemma was full of plans for the future and after a hard year, she wanted to make sure that we had a Christmas that was full of joy. A few weeks ago, she came to me with a dance she’d seen called Jerusalema and announced that we were going to learn it by Christmas Day. We’d been doing so well and I can’t believe that now I’m going to be playing the song at her funeral instead.”

Glenda is a widow after her husband, Clive, died of cancer in 2009, and her son, Keiron, died suddenly in 2014 at 37.

Glenda said: “Gemma was bubbly and loving. Everybody will say that about her. You used to hear her before you saw her, she’d shout ‘Toots!!’ at the top of her voice. People she worked with have told me how quiet it is there without her and how much her students will miss her. She loved her students, she worked so hard for them.

“I can’t believe that she’s gone. I will miss her so much.”

The family need to raise £4,000 for the funeral and are halfway to their target. Anyone who would like to contribute can donate at their Go Fund Me page – https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-living-memory-of-our-gems?member=23432649