Western Morning News (Saturday)
Place set at wedding to remember tragic death
ACORNWALL woman has told of her heartbreak walking down the aisle without her “typical Cornish gent” dad, who died a week before her wedding.
Terry Jones, 75, an accountant, local character and occasional Father Christmas from St Columb, passed away on April 23.
His daughter Claire sang the praises of her late father and said he was popular, hard-working and did a lot for his local community. Having lived in Cornwall all his life, Terry moved from Redruth, where he was born, to St Columb, and spent most of his life there.
He was admitted to hospital on March 16 after finding out he had a diabetes-related ulcer on his foot. Despite the efforts of doctors at Royal Cornwall Hospital and Liskeard, he died of an infection in hospital.
Claire said: “So many people in St Columb knew him – we’ve had hundreds of messages from people when they found out he had passed away. His work clients and co-workers were so fond of him.
“He was a typical Cornish gent, hard-working, on the local carnival community. He’d do anything for anyone and was the loveliest person. He could talk the hind legs off a donkey, but that’s the Cornish in him.
“I got married on Saturday (April 30) and it was really, really emotional. Mum and dad were divorced but very close, and my mum had to step up and do the father of the bride duties.
“It was difficult – being so close to having lost dad we felt guilty about celebrating. But he kept saying he wanted us to go ahead with the wedding no matter what. The wedding was all he spoke about; to not have him there was so hard.”
Claire added that it was “heartbreaking” to walk down the aisle without her dad, and that it was a day of “mixed emotions.”
She said: “The wedding gave me focus and was a distraction, but now that it’s over it’s going to be very hard for us all – now is the time for grieving and preparing for his final goodbye.
“The staff at Tregenna Castle were amazing – they checked on him regularly and were aware of what happened. It’s crash back down to earth with a bump now.
“I miss him beyond measure and I just want to give him the send-off he deserves and he had wanted.”
The family set a place for Terry at the wedding even in his absence, where people could pay tribute.
Terry had only sorted his funeral plan around a year ago, meaning the family now face a shortfall because it was within a 12-month period where costs still have to be met. Claire has since launched a GoFundMe appeal to help with costs.