Daughter pays tribute to dad who was ‘more than a statistic’ after he died with Covid-19 in Northampton

A heartbroken daughter has paid tribute to her father who was ‘more than a statistic’ after he died with Covid-19.

John Freeman, who had a fall in his East Hunsbury bungalow on May 14 and broke his hip, was admitted to Northampton General Hospital, where he was operated on.

Ten days after being admitted the 76-year-old, who also suffered from dementia and had problems with his kidneys, tested positive for Covid-19.

After being moved to a Covid ward, John sadly passed away on Saturday (May 30) and his family has been left devastated.

Fay Wickett and Dean Freeman, John’s children, now want to pay tribute to their dad who was ‘the strength of their family’, to show that there are people behind the statistics.

Fay said: “Dad has become a statistic and we want to let everyone know about the people it has affected and the people behind the statistics.

“He was so good when we told him he needed to isolate. He did so well so it’s such a horrible shame that he fell and broke his hip.

“It’s real and this has happened. I’m just not sure how.”

Back in 1969, John and his wife, Kate, moved to Northampton after requesting a transfer from their place of work.

The couple both worked for M&S in Croydon, but wanted to move to the town as housing was more affordable.

John worked extremely hard including out of hours and at weekends as a warehouse foreman for M&S in Gold Street and then Abington Street.

Fay added: “He worked there for more than 29 years and a lot of people knew him from working there.

“Dad then worked for a local manufacturer before retiring at the age of 70.

“He did attempt retirement before that but he went back because he was just too bored.

“He was a hard working man, at times a stubborn man and he was extremely proud of his and his family’s achievements.

“Growing up he was very strict. If we were in trouble, we really were in trouble, but then normal service would resume within a week.

“When we were kids we thought we were being victimised but he was teaching us good values and he just wanted us to become good parents ourselves.”

As well as working hard, John also enjoyed going for meals with friends and was a great lover of sport.

“He absolutely loved cricket and football and he would watch any sport, apart from golf,” Fay continued.

“He used to bore me senseless with cricket when I was a kid.

“Dad also had a big thing about cars. He liked fast cars.

“One obsession in the 90s ended up with him appearing on Top Gear talking about his car.”

John was a widower from 2008 when Kate died after a battle with cancer, then his own health started to deteriorate in December last year when he was diagnosed with dementia.

“Dad was grateful for any help that was given, but his rebellious streak always shone through,” Fay said.

“It made us smile as well as sometimes frustrating us.”

The family will miss John greatly, but they are determined that he will not only be remembered as a statistic in this pandemic.

“He was a reasonable and fair man and definitely the foundation for our family. He held us together and he was the strength,” Fay added.

“Dad guided us and helped us so we would be successful and we credit that to him.

“His legacy will live on through his children and grandchildren.”

John leaves behind his daughter Fay, his son Dean and his three grandchildren Anya, Isla and Kian.

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