Funeral held for popular journalist James Driver-Fisher
Family and friends gathered to pay their respects to much-loved journalist James Driver-Fisher, who died after a road accident aged 37.
James’s funeral was held at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Brierley Hill on Friday afternoon.
James, who worked for the Midland News Association – publishers of the Express & Star and Shropshire Star – died after he was hit by two cars in Saltwells Road in Netherton, Dudley, on October 31.
He was described as a ‘fantastic, kind, funny, caring family man’ by his close relatives at the service, which was attended by up to 200 people.
“Anyone who knows James knows that his main passion was family and his daughter Annabelle,” his wife Kelly said in a touching tribute to him.
“As a husband James was always fun, always kind and caring and he made me feel so loved and so wanted and so safe,” she said.
Tributes were also read out by James’s mother Nadine, sister Hannah and brother Thomas.
Thomas, who is a musician, described James as his idol, hero and best friend and performed a heartfelt song he had written for his brother, titled James.
James started with the Midland News Association (MNA) as a reporter on the Bridgnorth Journal in 2007, going on to be a sub-editor and latterly a content manager for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star and their sister weekly newspapers.
He was a regular contributor to the entertainment pages and also to the sports pages, thanks to his love of motorcycling.
A GoFundMe page was set up by his colleagues at the Express & Star and Shropshire Star and has so far raised more than £4,000 for his wife and young daughter.
