A father of five who died suddenly last Tuesday has given the gift of life to others by having his organs donated.

Elvis (Ellie) Parkinson has been described as a “super hero” by his grieving wife Arlene and his children: Dylan, 16; Aaron, 13; Matthew, 10; Ryan, four and Emma, one.

A stonemason, from Lisnaskea, Mr. Parkinson, 38, died suddenly in the South West Acute Hospital on Tuesday, November 22. His funeral service took place on Friday in Holy Cross Church, Lisnaskea, followed by burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

His wife Arlene has spoken movingly of a “devoted father and husband” whose “whole world revolved around his family.”

“He had a heart of gold and would have done anything for anyone,” said Mrs. Parkinson.

“Anywhere you seen Ellie you were sure to see one of the boys or all of them with him. He had a very keen interest in fishing and during the summer he spent many an evening fishing with the boys and indeed taking their friends along too. On one of those occasions Ryan (four) caught his very first fish,” she told The Impartial Reporter.

“We had recently only figured out that if we rearranged the first letter of the children’s names they spelt DREAM so we had our very own dream team,” she added.

A special occasion that Mrs. Parkinson will treasure in the difficult times ahead is the recent first birthday of their daughter Emma. She said: “Emma had turned one two weeks before he passed and we are all grateful that he got to spend this very special day with his wee princess.”

Praising her husband, she added: “He was a very talented stonemason but was very humble and unassuming with his talents. He could have turned his hand to anything.”

Mrs. Parkinson stated: “We as a family decided to donate Ellie’s organs as we felt there had to be some sort of positive to come out of the unimaginable situation we were in, and, if we could help ease the pain of other families it was something worthwhile.
“The children and I take comfort in knowing that Ellie is our very own superhero because what greater gift is there to give than life?”

The family do not yet know how many lives Mr. Parkinson has helped save through organ donation but they are looking forward to hearing some news within the next few weeks.

Mrs. Parkinson concluded: “Maybe this will help people think twice about signing the organ donation register.”

Mr. Parkinson will be sadly missed by his wife, sons, daughter, mother, step-father, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, mother-in-law, nieces, nephews and a large family circle.