Sir David Amess’s loved ones will mark the first anniversary of his tragic death with a service and tree-planting ceremony.
The Tory MP, 69, was stabbed to death by a terrorist during his constituency surgery in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on October 15 last year.
Next Saturday family and friends will gather to remember the father of five, who was a champion for Southend, an animal lover and West Ham fan.
His friend Father Jeffrey Woolnough, who was at the scene when the devout Catholic was murdered, said: “The first anniversary is so hard for the family. It’s really difficult. We miss him terribly in Southend…he was Mr Southend. The family want to stay quiet, they just need to breathe.”
A tree will be planted in his memory at Chalkwell Park, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, at 11am on Saturday.
And mass will be held at St Helen’s in Westcliff-on-Sea at noon.
Father Jeffrey bonded with Sir David over a love for West Ham during Sir David’s regular visits over his 12 years at St Peter’s Catholic Church in Leigh-on-Sea.
He said: “You’d never see him not smiling, unless West Ham lost a game. He was a great West Ham fan. We’d talk about how bad our football team was.”
He said Southend was “buzzing to get city status”, a campaign David fought hard for, but added: “The anniversary of his death will be a raincloud day.
“A year has flown by. It was a great, great loss, not just for Southend but for the Houses of Parliament too.”
Mass will be offered at 7pm at St Peter’s on Friday.
Councillor Stephen George, leader of Southend City Council, remembered Sir David as a “kind family man”.
He added: “Sir David was devoted to his local constituency of Southend West and was the greatest champion of Southend-on-Sea and the local area.
“He is greatly missed and we hope that we can remember him in an appropriate way by planting a memorial tree at one of his favourite local parks.”
In April, an Old Bailey judge handed a whole-life sentence to remorseless Islamic State fanatic Ali Harbi Ali, 26, of North London, for Sir David’s murder.
