The life of Newcastle journalist, Citizen of the Year and ovarian cancer campaigner Jill Emberson will be celebrated during a public memorial service on Thursday.
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City of Newcastle will host the memorial service for Ms Emberson, who died on December 13, 2019 after a four-year battle with ovarian cancer, at Newcastle City Hall from 10am.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said that while Ms Emberson's life was cut short, her impact in the lives of others was immense and inspiring.
"Jill touched the lives of countless people in our community as a family member, friend, through her work as a journalist and as a tenacious campaigner for ovarian cancer research," Ms Nelmes said.
"It's fitting that Jill's life is celebrated by the community and that everyone has the opportunity to pay tribute to the wonderful contribution she made to our city.
"Jill was an exemplary Citizen of the Year for Newcastle. She was incredibly generous with her time, despite knowing her cancer was terminal. I was in awe of her willingness to work with the city and her determination to make a difference every moment she could.
"We hope the public memorial will see the community come to together to celebrate Jill's life, her achievements and her incredible legacy."
The former Newcastle ABC radio presenter founded the Pink Meets Teal campaign after she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer in February 2016.
After she was forced off air due to the illness, Ms Emberson began to advocate for more funding and research while undergoing her own treatment.
Upon returning to the airwaves in 2018, Ms Emberson intimately documented her experience with ovarian cancer in the award-winning podcast Still Jill.
In June 2018 policy makers took note of her National Press Club address 'The Cancer Down Under Killing Too Many Women' and in 2019 the Federal Government, influenced heavily by her fierce lobbying, committed $20 million to ovarian cancer research.
The director of Ovarian Cancer Australia Josy Shaw told the ABC Ms Emberson had been "quite possibly the greatest impact we've ever seen at Ovarian Cancer Australia".
At the start of 2019, at Newcastle City Hall, Ms Emberson was named Newcastle's Citizen of the Year, a "precious opportunity" she said she would use "to raise more awareness about ovarian cancer".
She died surrounded by loved ones, including daughter, Malia, and husband, Dr Ken Lambert, at the end of 2019 aged 60.
"Jill was a fearless campaigner for ovarian cancer, a brilliant journalist; broadcaster; beloved wife, fierce mother; friend to many. She worked tirelessly all her life to call out injustice; make the world a better place," Ms Emberson's family said in a statement following her death.
Members of the public wishing to farewell Ms Emberson are invited to attend the January 23 memorial service.
At Ms Emberson's request, memorial donations can be made to the Hunter Medical Research Institute at https://hmri.org.au/jill
