Tom Nickels

At 38, Tom was far too young to die. He had so much more he wanted to experience and share with the love of his life, Ellie and their two beautiful-hearted children, Nancy, aged 6 and Nina, aged 4.

It is hard to find the right words to explain how wonderful Tom was. Everything sounds glib and two-dimensional. He meant so much to so many people. He was adored and treasured by his mum, Veronica, and his sister, Katherine. He had a huge network of deep and long-lasting friendships. When you were with him, he made you laugh and chuckle at the absurdity of things, he made you feel looked after, he made you feel like you were the centre of the world, he made you feel totally loved. He leaves a huge 6ft3 hole in our lives and we will all miss him for the rest of our days.

We are still in shock at how Tom could go from splashing in the swimming pool with his partner and girls on a half-term holiday to becoming so seriously ill two weeks later. He was admitted to A&E for tests where his condition escalated at a terrifying rate. The following Tuesday he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which had spread to his liver. He died that Friday, on 26 November 2021. He stood absolutely no chance against this disease.

We hope that any money we can raise will be put to good use - raising awareness of this dreadful disease, researching early ways to detect it and pinpointing those who may be most at risk of developing it.

We are heartbroken that we will no longer have the chance to make more memories with Tom but we are comforted by the wonderful, fun and happy ones that we have from the time we were lucky enough to share with him.

You will be forever loved, Tom. xxx