‘Great dad’ was tormented by chronic pain

AN electrician who was tormented for years by a chronic neck condition hanged himself in his neighbour’s garage, an inquest heard.

Terry McKeown, 52, loved his job as an electrician but his work was impeded by the condition which afflicted him for more than 10 years, the hearing at Macclesfield Town Hall was told.

The ‘cervical disc degeneration’ caused him pain, which meant he struggled to sleep and this affected his ability to work.

On the day of his death on July 28 last year, Mr McKeown, who lived with his partner Jillian Murray at The Oaks, in Bosley, got dressed in work clothes and told Mrs Murray a colleague was picking him up for a job with Cheshire Demolition.

She told the inquest she went out for work but returned home after taking sick and expected Terry to return around 4pm. But she became worried when he did not come home.

She rang around to find him but said she had a feeling he would never return.

The next morning police launched a missing person appeal.

PC Brennan carried out a search at a neighbour’s property. The officer found Mr McKeown hanged.

Coroner Janet Napier recorded a verdict that he had taken his own life after years of suffering.

She said: “He was a very brave man but had come to the end of his tether. It’s terrible how he had all those years of agony. For more than 10 years he tried to keep himself as cheerful as possible but was not able to do the job he loved and suffered financially.”

The inquest heard Mr McKeown suffered from low mood but did not say he felt suicidal.

His partner Jillian Murray said: “He struggled to sleep all the time. How he functioned I don’t know. He was a good man but I just don’t think he was happy in his own skin in the end.

“When he didn’t come home I knew something was wrong. It was out of character. I think I knew he was not going to come home.”

Mr McKeown was born and bred in Macclesfield, one of three boys and three girls, and became an electrician’s apprentice after leaving college.

After the inquest his daughter, Danielle McKeown, said: “He was so well known and loved in the community.

“I want him to be remembered as a great man and great dad.”