Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘I’ve not only lost my husband, I’ve lost my soulmate’
ALAN Dunmore lived life to the full – and was looking forward to getting back to it once the pandemic was over.
The 76-year-old had travelled the world with his wife Pauline, had golfed with friends on courses near and far and watched his beloved Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
These were all things the keen runner – who completed the Great North Run more than 10 times – intended to enjoy all over again once the world re-emerged from lockdown.
Sadly, after battling Covid19 in an intensive care unit for seven weeks, Alan lost his fight last Sunday.
He had contracted the virus after being admitted to Ninewells in November with high blood pressure.
Pauline led the tributes to the father-of-two, who became an adopted son of Broughty Ferry after moving from South Shields nearly 20 years ago after meeting her offshore.
She said there would be a “massive void” in the Ferry following his death since the former rigger was known to many in local public houses.
As part of a tribute during his funeral precession later this month, Alan will be going on one last “pub crawl” past the haunts where he befriended many.
“I’ve not only lost my husband, I’ve lost my soulmate and my best pal – he was a gem of a guy, it’s tragic the way we’ve lost him,” said Pauline.
“He was admitted to Ward 33 with high blood pressure – they thought he had maybe had a stroke, then he contracted Covid19 while he was in hospital.
“I hadn’t seen him for 14 weeks until I got to be there last Sunday. He’d battled it bravely and had been in ICU for seven weeks.
“I can’t thank the ICU staff enough for all they did for my husband. It was challenging not being able to be there physically with him until the end.
“The staff in ICU have also found it difficult that people’s loved ones can’t be with them during this process.
“Alan was Covid-19 free by the end but the damage it did to his lungs was irreversible.
“He had been in one of those oxygen hoods for 10 days and it had been hard to see him on a Facetime call like that before he was placed on a ventilator.”
Following Alan’s death, many golfers who had played with him at the Grange and Broughty Golf Club paid tribute along with friends and family from South Shields.
After his funeral at Dundee Crematorium on January 18, Alan’s ashes will be scattered at the Stadium of Light, which he still visited regularly after moving to Scotland.
Pauline added: “When Sunderland where in the play-offs he had the garden in the Ferry decked out in all his Sunderland strips.
“Although he lived up here for a long time he never lost that twang. People couldn’t understand him up here and he couldn’t understand them.
“Folk in the Ferry had dubbed him ‘Mackem Al’ – he was a Sunderland fanatic.”
Despite his death, Alan has still been able to make Pauline laugh with some of his funeral arrangements.
She said: “I’ve asked everyone to wear red, black and white – the Sunderland colours – on the day.
“Alan wasn’t always the best organised with certain things but surprisingly he had his funeral arrangements sorted.
“He’s requested The Great Escape theme tune as his final song at the ceremony and that was just him all over.
“Unfortunately, due to current restrictions we can’t have a big service but we will be holding a celebration of his life at the golf club when we are able to do so.
“People are still in shock to hear that Alan has passed. The Ferry is like a village and Alan was always wandering around – everyone knew him through the Occidental Bar, the Post Office Bar or Gunners.
“The one comfort I will take is that Alan had lived his life to fullest and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”
A spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said: “Our thoughts remain with Mr Dunmore’s family at this difficult time.”