PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY
Charity worker Brian Thirsk passes away after cancer batlle and warm tributes pour in to a true...
A FATHER of five who died after a battle with cancer will be remembered as a “pillar of the community”.
Brian Thirsk, from Caernarfon, was heavily involved with youth projects in the town and was a founding member of Gisda, set up in 1985 to help vulnerable youngsters.
Mr Thirsk, 68, was also a member – and sometime captain – of Caernarfon’s Gogs veterans rugby team.
Caernarfon tour guide Emrys Llywelyn, who knew Mr Thirsk for more than 20 years and played on the Gogs team with him, said: “He did so much work in and for the community with disadvantaged people. He was an excellent friend and a very good man.
“In 1995 we toured New Zealand with the Gogs. We have plenty of stories together, always funny – any time I saw him in the street it was always story time.
“I went to see the people at Gisda and it was a very, very tearful place; he was still very involved supporting them.”
Mr Thirsk passed away on Sunday and leaves children Gareth, Gwen, Elin, Dafydd and Nel. Mr Llywelyn added: “He did such a lot of community work, he was always very involved.
“He will be missed by a lot of people, along with his family and friends.
Mair Richards, 70, who worked at Gisda and knew Brian well, said he always did a lot for young people and for those worse off.
“But he’d never boast about it, that was his way,” she added.
“I first came across him through my sons who had been going to the local youth club, which he was involved in. Gisda started off with bed space for just eight young people, but he was the one to really get it off the ground. But whenever he helped you never felt you owed him anything, he was always just doing it out of the goodness of his heart.”
She added: “He was a pillar of the community, although he’d never let you say that to his face. The work he has done will continue now and that’s a great tribute. Young people and young families in Caernarfon have a lot to thank him for.”