Family devastated by death of young father at just 32
A MUCH-LOVED dad has left his family and friends devastated after dying suddenly aged 32 from a suspected heart attack.
Ashley Otter, who was well known across the Swansea and Llanelli areas as a nightclub bouncer, had been watching the film Justice League at his Pendderi Road, Bynea, Llanelli, home on Thursday, November 29, with his lifelong best friend Leigh Hodge.
Earlier, they had been to the gym and gone out for food together.
He fell asleep, and when he woke up he told Mr Hodge he was having difficulty breathing.
Mr Hodge, who was in the Army, called for an ambulance and performed CPR on him for 25 minutes, before he was taken to Glangwili Hospital, but he could not be saved.
There is yet to be a postmortem, but his family believe he may have experienced a heart attack. There is a history of them among young men in their family.
The 32-year-old’s mum, Lynne Reed, sister, SaraJane Otter, and partner Kara Hughes came together to pay an emotional tribute to Mr Otter, opening up over their grief and describing what a special person he was.
“We’re devastated, it’s literally been a numbness,” Miss Reed said.
“I keep feeling like he is going to walk in any minute or ring me to say he’s on his way just round the corner.
“He was the life and soul of the party, and his lights have gone out. I would like to think we’ll all be back together again.”
Miss Otter added: “He knew so many people, and when he was around you, he had a way of making you feel you were the only one in the room.”
Mr Otter was well known throughout the Swansea area, as from the age of 18 he spent his career working first in telesales at places like Vodafone and Admiral, and then as a bouncer at bars and clubs including Revolution, Peppermint, Pitcher & Piano and Oxygen.
He also had a love for travel and foreign holidays, and he decided to take his work abroad when he was 20, working as a bouncer at some of the top super clubs in Ibiza.
But the arrival of his daughter Beau, now aged two-and-a-half, changed the course of his life, and he decided to become a facilities manager for Swansea-based drainage company Metro Rod, with more sociable hours so he could be there for her and his two stepsons, Noah, seven, and Archie, 10.
“He was an amazing father and loved his kids more than anything,” said his partner Miss Hughes, mother of his daughter and step-sons.
“The day I told him I was pregnant, there was a blank look on his face then he started howling, he was so happy.
“I can’t tell you how much of a great father he was. He was the best dad and Beau was really the making of him, everybody else took second place, they were thick as thieves.
“He used to love looking after his bike, and Beau would be outside behind him with a little grey rag cleaning it with him.
“He liked taking them out and going on walks, on a nature trail and playing football, taking them riding the donkeys, everything.”
Miss Hughes explained how, like the storyline in Adam Sandler’s 1999 comedy film, Big Daddy, Mr Otter would have “Frankenstein” days with Noah, where he would let him dress up whichever way he wanted to, just to have fun.
She said the children had found his death very hard to comprehend.
“They ask for him all the time, and they’ve really noticed when he’s not around to do things like put their toys together,” Miss Hughes said.
“The heartbreaking thing is Beau is a daddy’s girl, and is asking for him all the time. She is so young that she will have no memories of him when she is older.”
Mr Otter’s funeral will take place on December 13 at Llanelli Crematorium. There will be a normal funeral attire dress code. A gathering will then take place at the Selwyn Samuel Centre.