Family can’t pay for tragic Lee’s funeral costs

Fundraising bid to pay undertaker and recover remains after sudden death

A devastated family is fundraising to recover the ashes of a loved one who died suddenly at his Dundee home.

Lee McAulay, 28, from Ballumbie, who had suffered severe health problems, was discovered by his mother and paramedics could not revive him.

His sister, Samantha Glennie, said the family had been left “shocked and saddened” and said Lee “did not deserve to be taken so young”.

Lee had also been well known for the Facebook page he set up with Samantha in 2010 when, during heavy snowfall, they used their 4x4 to shop for elderly and disabled people.

She said the family’s heartache had been made worse because, due to financial difficulties, they couldn’t afford to pay the undertaker’s bill, meaning Lee’s ashes have not been returned to them following his funeral last month.

Samantha said: “Lee was his normal self and wasn’t unwell prior to passing.

“My mum saw him 10 minutes before, finding him slouched off the side of the bed. He was pronounced dead when the paramedics shocked him and failed to bring him back. This was sudden and unexpected.

“The circumstances of the death are still to be determined, but we were finally allowed to have his funeral service on August 17.”

She said Lee, who worked at Scotmid in Invergowrie, was well loved by everyone who met him in the shop.

Two years ago, he started having problems with his stomach.

“He ended up getting major surgery in Ninewells in 2016 after a lot of investigations,” said Samantha.

“Five years earlier, Lee had a gastric bypass operation performed in Manchester. We discovered recently that this surgery was done incorrectly, which led to these problems.

“He was young and unhappy because he couldn’t lose weight and was severely obese. He tried everything and decided to get a bypass privately.”

He had further major surgery at Ninewells Hospital in February and seemed to be recovering well.

Samantha said that the week before Lee’s death, their mum had lost her job.

“She was not on benefits when he died and was informed she would not get help towards funeral costs. Lee also had no life insurance,” she said.

“My friend set up a Justgiving page for us recently, as she knows we face extreme financial difficulties at this dark, dreadful time.

“We know the bill for the funeral will be due soon and we know we probably cannot receive his ashes until the bill is paid.”

The fundraising page can be found at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/samglen.

Lee McAulay, who was only 28 when he died at home in Dundee.