Ballygawley man Noble Patterson takes on six-stone weight loss challenge in memory of late mother Edna

A Ballygawley man has embarked on an ambitious year-long weight loss challenge to raise funds and awareness for Dementia NI in memory of his late mother and a close friend's mum, with the ultimate goal of getting back behind the wheel of a rally car.

Motoring enthusiast Noble Patterson, 64, has set himself the challenge of losing six stone over the next 12 months, improving his mobility and raising vital funds for the Northern Ireland charity.

A father-of-four and grandfather-of-10, Noble currently weighs 23.6 stone and began his weight loss journey on Sunday, November 1, with the support of his good friend and neighbour, Vivian Hamill.

There is also an extra incentive to keep him motivated, with Vivian, a successful rally driver, promising Noble the opportunity to get behind the wheel of his four-wheeled drive Skoda RS Rally2 competition car if he achieves his goal by this time next year.

The fundraiser is being held in memory of two women, both of whom lived with dementia. Noble's mother, Edna, who passed away on January 9, 2015, aged 89, and Vivian's mother, Anna, who died on May 5, 2025, aged 84.

Speaking to the Courier as he began his fundraising journey, Noble reflected on his mother's life and explained why the challenge means so much to him.

“My mum was originally a Dungannon lady before moving to Ballygawley in 1962. She was a teacher and also worked in the Post Office before she did the books for my father's business, so she was well-known in Ballygawley.

“She was a big animal lover and she was very fond of her horses and donkeys. We have many happy memories of her with them and she loved her white donkey and foal.”

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Noble explained that his mother was always a very happy lady and “we often had a good laugh throughout our lifetime”.

Noble and his siblings lost their father in an accident before Edna gradually began to become increasingly forgetful. In the latter stages of her life, the whole family came together to provide the care and support she needed.

“Our mum had to be looked after by ourselves and carers in the end up and it was a whole family matter where everyone chipped in to help.”

Vivian also witnessed his own mother, Anna, live with the condition.

With both families having experienced the impact of dementia, Noble decided to combine a personal health goal with a fundraising effort for the charity.

He also explained that his mobility has been affected since a serious motorcycle accident 25 years ago, when he came off his bike travelling at high speed.

“Mum spent most of her life dieting and I have vivid memories of her running around the fields trying to lose weight. She wasn't very disciplined and had a big sweet tooth!”

Noble's neighbour, Vivian, was keen to support the idea and suggested the incentive of getting back behind the wheel of his rally car.

“Vivian told me, ‘if you can get into this rally car by this time next year, you can drive in an event’, and this has been great motivation for doing this dieting challenge.”

Noble described his first week as “very positive”. He discussed some of the sacrifices he has already made to start seeing a change on the scales.

“I was a very fond drinker of wine, Sauvignon Blanc especially, but after finding out that one bottle has 1,000 calories, I have now completely cut it out of my diet. I don't have my mother's sweet tooth but it's the little things that were all adding up.

“Mobility was the biggest factor in doing this diet and so I decided that there was no point in suffering to lose the weight if I wasn't going to do something meaningful at the same time.”

He joked that his mother “would be laughing” at him if she could see the effort he was going to, but said it is her memory that will keep him going throughout the journey.

“I think of her daily while I'm doing this, especially when I know she spent so many years trying to do the same thing.”

Dementia NI is the chosen charity for Noble's fundraiser and he explained why its work was so important to him.

“At the minute, locally, there is so much dementia and it's so important to raise awareness and funds for this cause.

“No matter how big or small the donation, it all adds up and every little helps and we appreciate every pound.”

The Courier asked Noble whether he had received any feedback so far and if this was helping him to keep pursuing the end goal.

“The feedback has been very positive so far. The nice comments on social media are keeping me going and I was worried we would have some people commenting on my weight but there has been none of that.

“I want to improve my mobility so that I can get back to walking and swimming.”

Noble offered advice to anyone else who is caring for or supporting someone living with the same condition.

“I would say, try and work together and look after them as best you can. All you can do is your best and it's not easy but in a way it's payback time for all the years they looked after you!” he joked.

“Everybody's circumstances are different but you just have to be there for your family and provide that support they need.”