A woman who "lit up every room" was celebrating her dream job in Turkey with her "soulmate" when she died.
Kate Thornton was just 42 when she suffered a suspected cardiac arrest just days into her holiday on June 28, despite having no previous health issues or displaying any symptoms. Kate and her husband Steve had travelled to Turkey after she was offered her dream job as senior marketing operations specialist for Minitab.
The pair booked the last minute trip abroad for June 25 to celebrate, and Steve said their time together was "fantastic". He told the ECHO : "It was after midnight the day after when things took a turn for the worst. I'm told it seemed she had a cardiac arrest but she'd had no symptoms. She was healthy, fit, didn't smoke, if anything she took pride in her health.
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"I spent the rest of the week doing as much as I could there, the prognosis the Turkish authorities gave was down to a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her heart but the coroner here is going to look into it."
Describing his wife who "lit up every room with her brilliant character", Steve said: "She was amazing, I still can't believe she's not here when I wake up. Kate couldn't have children, I've got two kids from a previous relationship but she was brilliant with them, she treated them like her own.
"We ended up buying an English Bulldog, Hogan, and he's suffering now, he was her baby. We've done so much together, she was a giver rather than a taker and found joy in making others happy."
The pair met in 2010 when they began speaking online after their previous relationships ended. But having no idea of the strength of the bond they would share, they instantly clicked.
Steve added: "We weren't looking for love but we came together as two broken souls. We got to know each other and I can't believe the journey we've been on. We made so many plans, she was moving to a bigger company and we were going to go on holidays and do the house up. We had so many plans to look forward to."
But after arriving back home to Newton-le-Willows on Monday, July 4, Steve said the nightmare has continued as there is a "complicated process". Despite having a Turkish death certificate, he needs to get one in English and an inquest must be held into Kate's death.
But there were issues trying to get Kate's body home. Steve said: "I've been told by the funeral director there will be a lot of complications in regards to whether a coroner wants to get involved. I can't do anything until I get an English death certificate. A lot has got to happen before we even lay her to rest, who knows when that will be. We need to wait for the coroner's decision."
Steve runs his own organisation for men's mental health called HIMvisible, which Kate helped with on the administration side, as well as starting her own women's group to do similar. Describing his wife as "touching the hearts of many", she was always one to fundraise and raise awareness.
Tributes have since come pouring in online for the 42-year-old. One person said: "This is so very sad. Such a wonderful lady, so sorry for your loss", as another wrote: "Kate genuinely was the nicest, kindest, funniest people I have ever had the pleasure to know. Such a loss, to so many but no more so than you and your families. I'm sending so much love and strength to you all."
Close friend Matt Heaton has set up a fundraiser to help Steve which has raised over £5,000 of its £500 target. To donate, you can click here.
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