Love as always to Patsy, Paul & Clare and to the wider family.
It does take a village to raise a child, I know this is true because male leadership in my life was scarce, not as bad as some though; my Dad was around some of the time but as I hit my teenage years and you're pulling away from your parents as nature demands, it could so easily have gone wrong but for this man....
Just when I needed to see what a proper man looks like, just when I needed to find a boundary as I spun off into the world, Tommy was there with a quiet word, and with a firm belief that I was enough, all topped with a dash of the enigmatic, we were always left wanting more.
I'm the oldest of my generation and so that means, without a present father and no older cousins or brothers to show me how to do this adulting as a man, Tommy was, head and shoulders above all else the man I looked up to.
There were others of course, that come to mind, that played their part (it takes a village after all) but Tommy was who I wanted to be and even then he'd tell me rather be myself (especially as I couldn't take a pint well, that seemed good advice).
He was loved by so many, admired by even more and he seemed to be all that, effortlessly. A real sense of justice, quick with a laugh and an irresistible core of energy always ready to burn and he used this all, partnering with my lovely Auntie Patsy and he helped bring up 2 of my awesome cousins Paul & Clare.
I have raised 3 boys now and love them all dearly and when I found they were pulling away, as they also must do, my greatest wish was that they would be surrounded by men like Tommy.
We can see now his life has affected generations and all that's left to say now is "Tommy, thank you, I love you & I will miss you but you live on by how you made us feel"
Tommy
Tommy Carey
21/03/2026
