A "one in a million" dad called his family to tell them he loved them hours before a fatal collapse at work.
In the early hours of Wednesday, December 14, HGV driver Gary Porter set off for a delivery in Cambridge and tragically never returned home.
He told his wife Lyndsey he did not feel well the night before, but in "typical" Gary fashion, he carried on as usual as he did not want to miss a day of work or "waste NHS time".
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Following his usual morning phone call to his family, the 47-year-old collapsed at a lorry depot in Cambridge and was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterward.
A post-mortem confirmed that the dad-of-two died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which is a rupture in the stomach blood vessels.
Gary, a former firefighter from Kent, moved to St Helens after meeting Lyndsey online and the pair have been happily married for the past 17 years.
Lyndsey, from Parr, said: "Gary truly was one in a million and our hearts have been forever broken.
"He was loved by so many people and never had a bad word to say about anyone.
"He always saw the best in people and would go out of his way to help anyone."
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A hard-working and devoted dad, Gary would always find time to take his son Erith to rugby games at Liverpool St Helens rugby union, where he also organised matches, and Blackbrook rugby league.
Following the news of Gary's untimely passing, those involved at the rugby clubs have persistently checked up on Lyndsey and the children to make sure they are coping as best they can.
As Gary was the main earner for the family and he did not have life insurance or a death-in-service contract, more than £4,500 has been raised to support the devastated family over Christmastime.
Lyndsey added: "I can’t thank the support from Blackbrook rugby club enough for all their support in setting up the fundraising page and the continuous texts and calls to check how me and the children are doing.
"I will be forever grateful for what they have done, and I’m sure Gary will be looking down on them with a smile on his face knowing that they are looking after his pride and joy; his son Erith and daughter Millie.
"I still re-live that day over and over again, [asking myself] why did he go to work [and] why couldn’t he just let work down, but that was Gary all over.
"I will be forever grateful for the time I had with Gary and the two beautiful children we had together.
"His memory will live on in his children's and my heart [...] and he will be forever missed."
To support the Porter family, you can donate to Blackbrook's fundraiser here.
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