Crowd-funded funeral campaign raises £2,000 for father's funeral
A crowd-funding campaign to help two teenage boys pay for their father's funeral has been launched - with £2,000 being raised in less than a week.
Gary Dickin, of Warstones, Wolverhampton, passed away on June 15 aged 53.
Due to his many battles with illness and suffering at the hands of conditions such as arthritis, Gary survived from benefits, meaning he could leave nothing behind for his children or his own funeral.
Gary had raised his children, Connor, 15 and Adam, 16, on his own since they were very young.
When long-term family friend Daniella Brooks heard the news of Gary's death, she was heartbroken, but set about making sure his children would see their father have a proper funeral.
She said: "Gary was so loved by everyone and his death was a shock to our community.
"I still upset thinking about it now, he had so much to live for, he said that himself.
"He had raised the children alone in this little flat and had just been given a house by the council two months earlier.
"He was delighted and had all of these plans to decorate the place and make it perfect.
"It broke my heart to think about Connor and Adam being left with a burden of trying to sort out the financial side of things for their own fathers funeral at such a young age."
The funeral will take place on June 30 thanks to the help of Edward John Funeral Directors, on the Penn Road in Wolverhampton.
Managing director Edward John said because of the sad situation, he would allow the family to pay a small percentage of the funeral fee up front and sort the rest of the money out at a convenient time for the family.
He said: "The family came to us and told us of their situation.
"They had been asked for a lot of money up front by other funeral companies but we were able to be more flexible with them.
"It is a sad situation and I am glad that we were able to help."
Gary's brother David, 62, moved in to help care for him in his final months, and will now move in permanently to bring the children up.
Mrs Brooks said: "David is such a great man for doing this, he has never had children in his life and now he is taking on this huge challenge.
"As sad as everyone is about the loss of Gary, it is wonderful to see the community come together and help these young boys."
A £3,000 target has been set on the Just Giving page, which stands at £1,978 at present.
To donate towards the funeral of Gary Dickin, visit crowdfunding.justgiving.com/FuneralHelpForGary
