Tributes to ‘loving and caring’ Fermanagh man

Stuart (62), late of Baragh Road, Ballinamallard, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at the South West Acute Hospital (SWAH), Enniskillen on Sunday, April 24, following complications related to Covid-19.

Paying tribute to her beloved late husband Stuart as "a people-person", his wife Linda said: "He very much loved to be out in the community, chatting to people.

The late Stuart McCrea.

"He just was a really hard-working, friendly guy who always had time for others."

Growing up in Omagh, after leaving school at the age of 16, Stuart worked at Fulton's shop in the Co. Tyrone town.

It was during his time working there that he met the love of his life, Linda, in 1976.

Married in 1983, the couple would have been celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary next year.

"He was a very loving and caring husband," said Linda, fondly. She added: "And a great father to our children – Alastair, Lynsey and Sarah, and to Maddie and Joshua, his grandchildren."

She went on to recall how they had many great family memories holidaying together in their caravan.

"Castlewellan Holiday Week was another big highlight of the year; we would've gone with other families," said Linda, adding: "He gave us the best that he could, and our family holidays were just amazing.

"In latter years, many trips were taken over to England to visit his son Alastair, daughter-in-law Caroline and grandchild, Joshua.

"He was a man who was always here with us. We all did so much together. If his family was happy, he was happy."

Stuart spent most of his working life in the police, joining the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 1978.

He retired from the police in 2006 and then began working for Severfield as a dispatch operative and remained there until his death.

During his time in the RUC, Stuart was involved in tug-of-war and took part in many such tournaments in Northern Ireland and England.

"He was the anchor-man in the tug-of-war team, and he absolutely loved that," said Linda.

Stuart had many other hobbies and interests too, including music. He was a member of the Silver Tones male voice choir, Ballinamallard Silver Band and Ballinamallard Methodist Church Choir.

He also enjoyed football and supported his local team, Ballinamallard United, attending home matches in Ferney Park every fortnight.

A lover of the great outdoors, Stuart enjoyed hiking the mountains of Fermanagh, Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo, and was a member of the Fermanagh Ramblers.

"We walked on a very regular basis," said Linda, explaining that when Stuart took ill health, Necarne would've been one of his main places to walk.

Stuart also had a great interest in motorbiking and went on many trips with his motorbiking friends.

"He organised trips over to Europe, Scotland, the south of Ireland and Wales. He had organised another trip for May 5 [this week] to Scotland with his biking friends. He had a great group of biking mates," said Linda.

Most important to Stuart was his Christian faith. As a member of Ballinamallard Methodist Church, he held the role of property steward, which he took great pride in.

He was involved in the Mission work of the church and came alongside people encouraging them and bringing them to events that were taking place.

He was also a member of Christian Vision for Men (CVM), and was actively involved in leading walking groups, biking day trips and inviting men to group meetings.

He wanted people to come to faith to get to know the God he loved and served.

On March 9, Stuart contracted Covid-19.

"We thought he was recovering from Covid, but because he had a bronchiole problem, Covid travelled on down into his lungs, and just really attacked his body massively," Linda told this newspaper.

She continued: "He deteriorated very quickly at the end. Covid was a massive attack on his body, and at that point then his body wasn't strong enough to fight it."

Bikers leading the funeral cortege through Ballinamallard.

The streets of Ballinamallard were lined with people on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 27 as the local community and beyond paid their final respects as Stuart's funeral cortège travelled through the village with an escort of motorbikes.

Work at Severfield came to a standstill as all staff members stood out to say farewell to their late colleague.

"It was so comforting to see that Stuart was respected and supported so much in the community, and that gave me great strength," said Linda, noting that Ballinamallard Silver Band formed a guard of honour, and played Stuart's drum as the cortège passed by.

Arranged by Marcus Madill Funeral Director, Stuart's funeral service took place at Ballinamallard Methodist Church led by Stuart’s minister and friend, Rev. John Beacom, followed by a private family interment in Sydare Cemetery.

A darling husband of Linda and a dearly loved dad of Alastair (Caroline), Lynsey and Sarah, also a devoted granddad of Maddie and Joshua, Stuart is very sadly missed by his family and all the family circle.