Dorset couple set up legacy fund to support communities

Bournemouth couple Leon and Doreen Samuels’ wills made provision for their estate to launch the Samuels Charitable Fund with Dorset Community Foundation.

It will fund grants for grass roots charities and community groups tackling poverty and disadvantage caused by age, illness, disability or isolation, with priority given to people with cancer, associated conditions or life-limiting illnesses.

A chiropodist who practiced in Bournemouth for more than 30 years, Leon Samuels died aged 86 last June – 12 years after his wife Doreen lost her battle with cancer at the age of 75.

Their fund will also provide a bursary for a Dorset-based student conducting PhD research into cancer or associated conditions.

A family friend said the couple, who were born and met in Wallasey on Merseyside, moved to Dorset through Mr Samuels’ work as a pharmaceutical salesman in 1981 and set up home in West Parley.

He had trained as a chiropodist and set up his own practice in Wellington Road, Bournemouth.

Mrs Samuels was head of a nursery school on Merseyside and worked as a primary school advisory teacher in Dorset and became a prominent member of the Townswomen’s Guild in the area.

Leon and Doreen Samuels (Image: Dorset Community Foundation)

Their friend said the couple, who had no children, “really loved Dorset… so they wanted to give something back”.

The couple first met through dancing and married in 1959.

Mrs Samuels had previously overcome cancer but it later returned and she died in April 2009. Her friend said: “Doreen was a lovely, gentle and kind person and really understood children and knew how to get the best out of them.”

After his wife’s death Mr Samuels wrote a book, called Not Only Just Feet, with anecdotes about his life as a chiropodist.

“Writing the book gave him a purpose,” said their friend. “Although he was quite a private man he had a real wit.

“Both of them had a real connection with the Bournemouth area and were very happy there.”

Dorset Community Foundation director Grant Robson said: “We are incredibly thankful that Leon and Doreen chose to entrust us with their legacy. Their fund will be an enduring resource for community groups and charities working in the area they came to love.”