“His smile could brighten any room, and his presence brought comfort and warmth to everyone around him.”
A Co Antrim family are honouring their dad’s memory. Father-of-three James Ritchie from Cullybackey passed away in April 2024 after a prostate cancer diagnosis.
His son Mark explained how his family are “forever grateful” for the support they received from Marie Curie Hospice, Belfast.
The Ritchie family held a ‘Bingo Music Bonanza’ on Saturday, August 2, with over £16,000 raised for the charity.
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Mark said his father was “a good, honest, hardworking man who always had a smile on his face and a great sense of fun”.
The Co Antrim man told Belfast Live: “My dad passed away last year. He died when he was 79. He was full of fun, he was a quiet man, but he could brighten the room by saying very little – he had his own funny wee ways about him.
“My mum cared for him as long as she possibly could… she wanted to try and do it all herself and then we convinced her – Marie Curie got involved and they were in three times a day.
“Even the simple things, making a cup of tea… they couldn’t have been any nicer to my dad. He just smiled right to the end.”
Mark also told: “When I think of my dad, I see a man of quiet strength and gentle humour. He wasn’t one for long speeches, but when he did speak, it was often with one of his own wee sayings that could make you laugh no matter how your day was going. His smile could brighten any room, and his presence brought comfort and warmth to everyone around him.
“In the final weeks and months of his life, Marie Curie came into our family home. Their compassion and dignity allowed dad to spend his final days surrounded by love. They cared for him with a gentleness that extended to all of us, especially my mum, whose strength they helped carry in those difficult days. We will be forever grateful.”
Mark said since his dad’s passing, “there’s been an emptiness” he “can’t quite put into words”. He added: “But through the Bingo Music Bonanza and the kindness shown by friends, family, and strangers alike, I feel we’ve honoured him in the best way we could.
“My dad loved seeing people happy. That night, I think we made him proud.”
The part-time DJ explained how the ‘Bingo Music Bonanza’ came about – which was held at Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena last weekend.
The sales manager said: “Myself and my brother (Paul) DJ part time at the weekends, so both of us did that and my bigger brother (Alan) did a lot of raising money for the charity and selling tickets… Everybody pulled together.
“I actually did a thing during lockdown in 2020, everybody sort of did live streams and stuff like that. Everybody was bored and I decided to throw the decks on one night. I think there were maybe 1,200 people on the live stream at the end of the night. The next day the phone went mad [with people] saying ‘do it again, do it again’.
“It started out as a bit of fun, and then I said, ‘Look, I’ll do another one but I’ll maybe try and raise some money for the NHS’. I raised £27,000 online. Ever since then, I always enjoyed doing something like this, I get a bit of a buzz seeing other people happy.”
He added: “[Saturday] gave us something to focus for the last six months. There were nearly 100 people there, the buzz was unbelievable.”
You can donate to the fundraiser in aid of Marie Curie Hospice, Belfast here.
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