Prolific Isle of Wight fundraiser, Ian Gregory, has a new purpose for his fundraising efforts. However, the motivation sadly comes from a place of tragedy.
Earlier this month, suddenly and totally unexpectedly, Ian and his wife Jacky lost their youngest son, Lewis, at aged only 23.
Ian explains,
“Lewis woke that morning having difficulties breathing and was rushed in to St Mary’s. By late afternoon they found he had a massive blood clot on the lungs and by early evening he suffered a cardiac arrest that ultimately cost him his life.”
Father to one-year-old daughter
Lewis was a father to his one-year-old daughter, Esme, and was due to marry his fiance, Natasha (Tash), in September 2022.
As a chef for the past three and a half years at The Castle Pub in Newport, as well as working at The Vine Pub in St Helens, Lewis was well-known.
He also held a doorman’s licence and would help keep Newport safe after his shifts in the kitchen.
Daddy’s Little Girl Fund
Lewis’s funeral will take place in mid-December and instead of flowers, his family are asking people to make a donation to Daddy’s Little Girl Fund.
Ian explains,
“Lewis is unable to provide the future he wanted for his daughter Esme, so we have set up a Gofundme page and the pubs have been taking donations to help create a trust fund for when Esme comes of age.
“On the same day Lewis died, his brother Connor and his wife Zara had their third child, a boy called Theodore. Connor was lucky enough to video call Lewis just hours before he died, to show him his new nephew.”
Show your support
Ian will still be doing a small amount of fundraising for Prostate CancerUK, but will mostly be fundraising for his granddaughter Esme and Thrombosis UK to help bring awareness just how deadly and quickly a blood clot can kill.
Within eight hours of setting up the GoFundMe page it already passed the £1,000 mark, and at time of publishing had reached £1,400.
Lewis will be buried next to his older brother Jordan, who died of cot death in 1996.
Our thoughts are with Lewis’s family, friends and colleagues.
