A loving dad and granddad who committed much of his life to helping and supporting young people tragically died 'in the blink of an eye' after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest at home, his grieving family have revealed.
Kevin Ingham passed away on October 11. With no previous signs or symptoms of a heart attack, the 58-year-old had been feeling under the weather before he took a 'sudden turn', his partner said.
Kevin, said his family, touched the hearts of many people with his 'passion for fairness and equality' and spent the last 20 years looking after and supporting young people. They described him as a 'caring and empowering' man.
But his loving legacy will go on as the family have launched a charity fundraising appeal in his name for Christmas, reports the Echo.
Speaking to the ECHO, Kevin's partner Sue said he began to experience flu symptoms in the middle of the night and "wasn't himself", feeling "emotional" until he said he felt "faint". But as he went to sit down, he was "gone in the blink of an eye", she said.
Despite "working for so long", paramedics "just couldn't get his heart to start" and it was suggested he had suffered a cardiac arrest as it "all happened so fast". Sue said: "At his funeral, over 300 people were there, from all over the place, who he touched in one way or another either through work or personal relationships. He should've been a local councillor."
Kevin, who worked as an operations manager across residential homes, was known as a "work dad" as he was "always there to help and guide others", working right across the country, including more recently in Southport. Sue added: "From when I first met him, he'd always wanted to run a youth club."
Having met on a cruise ship in Australia, the pair made their living running pubs before taking over an off licence. But when that began to run down, there was a "pivotal" moment in his life when he decided to go into an industry helping others.
Sue said: "He did voluntary work for two years, which was financially hard but it was giving him confidence and from there he was a care worker and then operations manager. From an early age he always wanted to help."
Daughter Alice added: "It was about community, it was always just something he was passionate about." As the heart-broken family get their heads around the unexpected and tragic loss, they are launching a fundraiser, in his memory, to help other, vulnerable people.
The fundraiser, for An Hour For Others, will go towards the Christmas campaign for children in Liverpool, which is something the much-loved dad "felt passionate about". Hoping to continue to make a difference, over £1,500 has already been donated as Alice said they are "blown away" by the generosity.
Sue said: "He didn't look for glory, he just liked to help people in every day life. He even helped young people in the off licence, he gave a young lad a job. Kevin would be talking to them and they all came to his funeral because they remember what an inspiration he was in their difficult years.
"There were so many people were at his funeral we didn't even know. He was encouraging and inspiring for young people. He was also a huge Liverpool supporter, he was involved in Hillsborough and it did affect him, he never spoke about it.
"We were very involved in the church, he loved cooking and was in the bike club." He leaves behind his loving partner Sue, daughters Alice and Rosie and family and friends.
According to the North West Ambulance Service, a cardiac arrest is the "most extreme emergency" and happens when the heart stops beating in a normal way. For someone in cardiac arrest they will die within minutes unless treated immediately with CPR. More information can be found by clicking here. To donate to the fundraiser, click here.
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