Tributes following death of Fermanagh dad who bravely battled brain cancer

Diagnosed with brain cancer in June, 2018, he determinedly fought his illness to marry the love his life, Jade, four months later.

In November, 2020, when he was given just days to live, he was determined to keep fighting, and he celebrated one last Christmas with his son, Ryan, before his incurable illness eventually took him on February 10.

He passed away peacefully at his parents' home in Garvary, Enniskillen, surrounded by his loving family.

Right up until the end, Alex stayed positive, giving his family the strength to deal with the inevitable.

Alex's heartbroken wife, Jade, who bravely supported him throughout his two and a half year battle with cancer, said: "He was always so positive.

"He was determined to never let it beat him. He just kept everyone else going, because he had such a great, positive attitude and he was always determined that this wasn’t going to get him.

"He was always thinking of us. He was determined to be here for Ryan and myself, and his mum and dad, and everyone."

Calling her late husband "one in a million", Jade described Alex as a family man who was "so loving".

"Family meant a lot to him. He was always a very good father and a good husband. He did everything for me. He did whatever he could to help me in any way he could," she said.

Alex was known for his upbeat character and great sense of humour.

“I will miss his personality, his jokes and his banter,” said Jade, noting that Alex would often make a smart comment which would always make her laugh.

"He was always a joker – always very funny, or so he thought he was! Sometimes we didn’t think he was so funny,” she recalled with a laugh.

Alex and Jade first met nearly 10 years ago in England. They were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, and were inseparable ever since.

“We got engaged in June, 2015 and then we got married in October, 2018,” said Jade, going on to explain that Alex was diagnosed with incurable brain cancer in June, 2018, just four months before their wedding day.

"We went on ahead and got married. It was fantastic – we were just so glad that he made it to the day, because at that point he had been going through treatment and we weren’t sure that, with his immune system being low, that we’d be able to have the wedding.

“But he was just determined to get married and we had an absolutely fantastic day. He was very well on our wedding day, which was brilliant," she said.

For Alex, being a good father to Ryan was always his top priority.

"He showed Ryan loads of things, taught him loads of things. He was a very loving father, very caring.

"Ryan was always his priority. He was very protective of him," said Jade, who commented on her son's resilience following his father's death.

"Ryan actually seems to be stronger than any of us. He is definitely keeping me going."

Along with undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Alex endured two major surgeries to remove tumours from his brain; the first in June, 2018 and another in January, 2020. Sadly, it was determined that his cancer was incurable.

"In October, we were told that unfortunately they’d done everything that they could, and he was put onto palliative care," explained Jade.

Around that time, Alex started to lose his mobility, but he still had a very positive attitude.

"The palliative care nurse came out on November 25, and said to us that they were really sorry and that he only had a couple of days.

"We were sort of preparing for it, and after that he went for another 12 weeks. We were just so amazed – that that was the fight and determination that Alex had," remarked Jade.

As a family they were able to share one last Christmas together which Jade described as "very special”.

Alex had a great interest in farming and also enjoyed working on cars.

“He loved his cars. He had a Subaru, and it was his pride and joy,” said Jade, adding that he also had an interest in lorries and worked as a lorry driver for Loane Transport for many years before he took ill.

Driven by his cousin, Alex’s black Subaru led his funeral cortège on Friday, February 12. A lorry followed behind.

His funeral, which was attended by his immediate family only due to Covid-19 restrictions, took place at Garvary Parish and was arranged by Austen Stinson, of W.T. Morrison Funeral Directors.

Calling the funeral service "beautiful", Jade said: "It was hard, but I think we gave him the send-off that he would have wanted.”

Beloved husband of Jade, dearly loved father of Ryan, devoted son of Mark and Kim, dear brother of Emma (Barry) and Thomas (Karen) and dear uncle of Olivia, best friend of Mark 'Monty' Monteith, Alex is lovingly remembered by his friends, family and all the family circle.