RIP Mr Happy: Man who could not feel sadness passes away aged 72
'He was happy right until the end' – a grandfather who was fondly known as Mr Happy after a stroke left him unable to feel sadness, has died.
Malcolm Myatt became well known around Hednesford as the man who would always be laughing and joking.
But the retired lorry driver passed away unexpectedly after collapsing at Hednesford railway station aged 72 last month it has now emerged.
Aston Villa fanatic Malcolm, who had once been a first class referee, suffered a stroke in 2004 which completely changed his life.
He was so ill he was read the last rites but after a 19-week stay in hospital he fought back to recover.
However Malcolm would not be the same again. He was disabled with little to no use of his left arm and a very weak left leg making it difficult to walk. It also brought on vascular dementia due to reduced blood flow to the brain, but there was an unexpected behavioural consequence; Malcolm could no longer feel sad.
His wife Kath, aged 71, said: “He was outgoing anyway but after the stroke it changed.
“He just wanted to make everybody laugh. If he made you laugh he had done his job. He would just tell you jokes and sometimes because of his dementia he would forget he had already told you them. He was never sad anymore. But everybody loved him. Everyone in the supermarket and the stroke groups. They all knew him as Mr Happy.”
There was also a downside to his unique condition. Funerals in particular would be tense due to Malcolm’s unrelenting happy persona. He also became more childlike in some of his tendencies.
Kath said: “Last year it was our golden anniversary and I asked him what he wanted to do. He said ‘I want to see Mickey Mouse’. So we did we flew to America and went to Disney World and he loved it.
“He had become more childlike. He loved things like his teddy bears. But it was just the way he was.”
On Friday, October 20, the couple were heading to Birmingham for the day. But while they were waiting for their train at Hednesford railway station Malcolm collapsed suddenly.
Kath said: “I was collecting the tickets and someone ran to me saying your husband has collapsed. That was it. The paramedics tried ever so hard on him. His heart had just given up.”
She added: “It is so weird without him. So quiet. But he was so happy when he died. We were going to Legoland the next day and he was excited. He was happy right until the end.”
Malcolm is survived by Kath, his daughter Beverley, and three grandchildren Aaron, nine, Dominic, seven and Owen, 14 months.
A funeral service was being held today at Stafford Crematorium.
