Family and friends to celebrate Liam
SCOUT LEADER DIED EARLIER THIS YEAR
TRIBUTES have been paid to “funny guy” Liam Cawood after his “out of the blue” death.
Described as a man that “would help anyone that he could”, Liam died on January 20, leaving his family and friends shocked. The outdoor-loving 20-year-old – who was well-known and well-liked – ‘struggled with his mental health.’
Liam had kept his troubles well hidden from his family and friends, and they are devastated.
Liam’s friend Kirsty McKeone, who met him when he was a Scout leader, said her supportive pal was “full of ideas” and “like a son” to her.
Family and friends are preparing to gather for a celebration of his life which will be a time where they can share memories of Liam and raise money for charities – one of which was close to his heart. Kirsty said: “Liam was a funny guy – he would help anyone that he could.
“I was in quite a dark place with my mental health once and he helped me get up out and about because I had a lot of anxiety and stuff. He just loved the outdoors, he was a Scout leader and he volunteered at a Scout group and helped wherever he could.”
Liam and Kirsty met when he helped her run a Scouts group in Ormesby. Kirsty, from Ormesby, admitted she hadn’t known him that long, having only met him around two years ago. But that didn’t affect their bond – she said the pair “grew really close” adding: “He was like a son to me.”
Kirsty said Liam struggled with his mental health. She explained: “He was aware of my own problems with mental health over the years and he was the one who pushed me to do things. What happened was completely out of the blue.”
Liam, who was from Nunthorpe, sent loving texts to his girlfriend and friends before he died in January.
There has not yet been an inquest into his death.
On April 1, a celebration of Liam’s life will take place at Middlesbrough Scout Headquarters, on Tollesby Road, where family and friends are gathering to pay their respects and share happy memories of muchloved Liam.
Kirsty explained: “Because he was such a well-liked guy, there would have been far too many people at the funeral for his parents to deal with.
“So his funeral was private, it was only his really close family.
“Although, we did do a guard of honour for him in our Scout uniforms. The celebration of life event is something that the parents wanted to do once they had time to process it and to give everyone their chance to talk about Liam and share memories – but not in a morbid way, in a celebration.”
Kirsty, who owns a new homemade craft business called All
Wrapped Up alongside friend Kat Shephard, is selling items at the event to raise money for two charities. The first is the Scout Association – an organisation she says was close to Liam’s heart – and Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide.
She said: “We want to raise awareness for men’s mental health. Liam struggled with his mental health for quite a while and afterward, we found out it must have been a lot worse than we all knew. He was scared to tell anyone about it. He was just scared to speak to anybody about it. There’s not enough awareness of the mental health problems that many men have, and we want to try to change that – for Liam.”
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