Tributes have been paid to an "amazing" mum and "lovely" dad who have tragically died within weeks of each other - leaving behind their 10-year-old son, two grown-up daughters and two adult sons. Jill Skivington, 46, and her partner of 15 years Gary Armstrong, 49, have been remembered for being dedicated to their children and each other.
Jill lost her life last Thursday (May 12) after suffering a heart attack and a catastrophic stroke four weeks after Gary passed away following a cardiac arrest, reports ChronicleLive. The couple leave behind their son Alfie, who has autism, as well as Jill's daughters Katy, 21, and Ellie, 22, who saw Gary as their father, and Gary's two twin sons from a previous relationship, Tom and Dean, 23.
Jill's brother Andrew, 42, said: "It's really bad luck, it's horrendous. We'll try to be there as much as we can but we can never be a mother. Gary was good fun and he was always there for them. If you take one parent out you can cope and help fill that hole - but when you take both out it's a really big hole you have got to fill. It's just very sad."
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Concerns had been raised about Gary, who worked as shutter engineer and was from Wallsend near Newcastle upon Tyne, after he didn't show up to work on April 13. Jill's brother Andrew and her daughter Katy went to check on him at home and sadly found he had died on the sofa while watching TV.
"He had been to Jill's, watched telly and then he went home," Andrew said. "The next day he didn't turn up at work. Me and Katy went down, we had to break in, and he was dead on the settee. Jill was inconsolable, she was devastated."
A few weeks later, on May 1, Katy and Ellie were spending the weekend with their mum when she fell ill. Sadly, she suffered two blood clots - one in her heart and one in her brain - which caused a heart attack and catastrophic stroke and subsequent swelling in her brain. Despite the best efforts of medical staff at Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital, Newcastle Freeman Hospital and the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Jill died on May 12.
"She was so unlucky. She had one blood clot in her heart and one in the brain at the same time," Jill's brother Andrew explained. "The doctor had to make a decision about which one was more important. The heart came first, they put a stent in to see how that went and they had to do an operation after that to relieve the pressure on her brain.
"The doctors prepared us from pretty early on that they didn't think she would get better. My mam was really strong through it, she was great and kept us all together. She's a rock."
Gary's funeral was held at Tynemouth Crematorium on May 11. Paying tribute to his brother-in-law, Andrew said: "Gary was a lovely bloke and he had a lot of friends. Everyone got on with Gary, he's never had an enemy.
"[Jill] was an amazing sister, daughter, mother and girlfriend. We have all lost something that we can't replace," he added. "There's always going to be a hole there, we have got to try and remember her and make sure all the kids aren't left needing anything. She was a great mam, she had three great kids and they are all going to miss her a lot."
A Go Fund Me page has been set up to raise funds for Alfie, Katy and Ellie. It explains that guardianship can take up to a year to achieve and, during that time, the family will receive no financial assistance. The funds will predominantly be put aside for Alfie's care.
The fundraiser, set up by Alfie's auntie Donna, says: "Hi, my name is Donna and I'm trying to raise funds for my autistic nephew and two nieces who have just tragically and suddenly lost both their mum and dad (stepdad to the girls) within one month of each other
"The kids lost their dad Gary on the 12th April, after he'd been round for tea, said the usual goodbyes for the day, went home and died in his sleep due to a sudden cardiac arrest. He was found the next day by his step daughter and brother in law after not up showing for work. No previous health concerns or any sign that he was unwell.
"They were, and still are, all devastated, including his long term partner Jill. They'd only lost the family dog a month before, who was 11 too. Jill was finding it really difficult to cope and come to terms with it all, although she was fighting on for the kids, like she always did.
"But then on Sunday 1st of May, Jill showed signs of having a stroke whilst at home with the kids, so they rang an ambulance. She was took to hospital where they found she'd had a massive heart attack and had to be rushed for surgery to put a stent in, which saved her life.
"On the Monday, they discovered she'd also had a catastrophic stroke and had swelling on her brain, she then underwent another major operation to release pressure from the skull, it was in itself a success as she survived, but she was left with too much damage to the brain to recover.
"Unfortunately she never regained consciousness and sadly died on Thursday 12th May. There was no warning regarding Jill either, we're all in such shock, non of this seems real. I can't even begin to explain how this is affecting the kids.
"Jill and Gary absolutely adored their kids, and Jill did everything for them. Alfie is only 10 and has autism, he needs care for the rest of his life. His nana and sister are currently caring for him, he hasn't come to terms about his dad yet, so we really don't know how he's going to process all of this about his mam.
"I'm fundraising for him, and the girls, but mainly Alfie, to get him some money put aside for his care now and when he gets older. Also, we've been looking into guardianship for his nana and sister and it can take up to a year to achieve this, in this time they won't get any financial assistance at all, which is an absolute nightmare on top of everything else as his nana is a pensioner, not on much. Although we're all trying to pull together, everything is really tough.
"Whatever is raised will go towards creating a sensory room/bedroom at his nanas, funeral costs, trips out with his sisters (he loves the cinema!) with anything else going towards his care for the rest of his life, so he, his nana and sisters, don't have to face that burden too. Anything donated is really appreciated, even if its just £1, anything will help them right now."
If you'd like to donate, you can do so here.
