Chesterfield woman says her 'amazing' dad will not become another coronavirus 'statistic' after heartbreaking loss

Lynn Collins, 46, says ‘words cannot describe the pain’ of losing her father Tony Thompson to Covid-19 at the height of the crisis on April 3.

The most difficult thing was ‘not being able to say goodbye’ as 77-year-old Tony’s condition deteriorated so rapidly once he was admitted to hospital.

Determined that her dad did not become ‘one of the statistics that we have all become so familiar with on the news’, Lynn decided to use her flair for writing to honour Tony properly and keep his memory alive.

She wrote a poem for his funeral and has now launched a book of remembrance for people across the country who have lost a loved one to contribute to.

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Lynn said: “I thought how lovely it would be for people to share stories to capture their loved ones forever in print, and that is where the book of remembrance came about – partly because I enjoyed writing the poem, it seemed to help, and partly to see if other people felt the same and would be happy to share with me.”

Lynn, who lives in Brockwell, Chesterfield, with her husband Jeremy and works as HR manager at Spencers Solicitors in the town, says her dad was looked after really well in hospital.

“The ward he died on sent my mum a beautiful card, with some forget-me-not seeds for her to plant,” Lynn said.

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She says the speed in which the virus took her dad was ‘hard to comprehend’.

“Words can’t describe the pain of not being able to see him in the hospital or even being given a chance to say goodbye,” Lynn said.

“As a family we’ve still not been allowed to hug each other. We were allowed eight people at the funeral – my dad had an amazing life and I felt totally gutted that this was the culmination.”

Lynn found writing the poem for her dad’s funeral to be a cathartic process which helped with the grieving process.

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“I decided I wanted to create something that would benefit not only me, but others who are reeling from losing key members of their family because of Covid-19,” she said.

“I am reaching out to people who, like me, have suffered the ultimate loss in lockdown.

“Would you like to share your story of a loved one and create a lasting legacy to celebrate their life? This will serve as a permanent memory so that we can cherish them and let their stories live on forever. These are the fallen ones of our times, and they should not be just a statistic.”

If you have written a memorial for your loved one, or would like to send one to Lynn, for inclusion in the book, get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Tony, who lived in Derby and worked at Rolls-Royce, leaves behind wife Brenda Thompson, Lynn and siblings Amanda, Karen and David, plus grandchildren Corey, Finn, Guy and Dean.

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