Charity football match in memory of "amazing man and devoted father"

Newbury man remembered during fundraiser

A CHARITY football match was held on Saturday in memory of an “amazing man and devoted father” from Newbury.

Paul Wilson died in May, 16 months after he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

He was 41 years old and left behind his widow Sarah and their four daughters Poppy, 10, Annabelle, eight, Holly, six, and Georgie, two.

Mrs Wilson said: “He was amazing. A glass-half-full kind of guy and very, very smiley.

“Everyone who ever met him said he was always beaming from ear to ear.

“He loved our four little girls.

“He was a devoted father and a lovely person to be around. He’s missed hugely by everyone.

“He will live on in his four little girls.”

A charity football match to raise money for Daisy’s Dream, a charity supporting families affected by life-threatening illness or bereavement, was held at the Nuffield Health gym in Newbury on Saturday.

The match was organised by Mr Wilson’s friend Jamie Owens and Nuffield manager Gerry Westermann.

Mr Wilson, an avid Liverpool FC fan, used to play five-a-side at the centre.

Mrs Wilson said: “It went really well. There were lots of old faces and people who I haven’t see for years.

“Paul would have loved it, people still thinking about him five months later, keeping his memory alive.”

She said that the event raised around £750 for Daisy’s Dream, but this amount could double following further donations and pledges.

The family, who live in Wash Water, are being supported by the charity and Mrs Wilson said the advice they had offered had been indispensable.

“They have been amazing, a real life-line for me,” Mrs Wilson said.

“We are still coming to terms with it. He thought he had years to live, but it wasn’t to be.”

She said that her husband had left a set of wishes for her and his daughters to fulfil after his death.