Paul Waddingham (30 Jan 1965 - 24 Apr 2023)

In loving memory of Paul Waddingham who sadly passed away on 24th April 2023.

Born to Jean and Ken Waddingham Paul's life began in Cleethorpes. He was brother to Garry, who he loved very much... although at Christmas when they were kids, Paul would have a sneaky peak at the presents and change the gift tags making sure he got the best toys!
Paul joined the Boys Brigade as a youngster and enjoyed the many activities on offer. Whilst there he learned to play ‘The Last Post’ on the bugle. Despite his parents loving this tune, he drove them mad as he practiced it repeatedly.
He had a wonderful relationship with his cousins, especially Kev and Andy with whom many a good night was had. He was very sociable and had a great circle of friends. That circle grew far and wide as he got older.
He was a cheeky chappie, often getting up to mischief and into bother. He loved his football and was a lifelong fan of his beloved team Liverpool.
He had many passions including Northern Soul. He went from driving his mum mad with the bugle to driving her mad when he practiced his dance moves at home. His passion took him all over the country to all-nighters where he would dance the night away.
As a young man he wanted to travel. He and a couple of his friends boarded a train and headed for Europe before finding his dream job in Corfu. There he was able to share his passion for music when he became the DJ at the Pink Palace. And that’s where he met Richard Fuller from Canada who was to become his closest friend until his dying day.
When he returned to the UK 3 years later, he walked into his local where I was working. As soon as he met me, he spun me a cheesy line saying, “I can see my whole future in your eyes” and I guess he must have because we’ve been a couple ever since. We were so proud of our boys Simon and Maxwell as they grew up and were so proud of the young men they became. Together they gave us two beautiful daughter-in laws and produced 5 amazing grandchildren for us to love. Paul loved them with all his heart (pushing me further down the pecking order). He had a particularly special bond with Callum our oldest grandson who is autistic. He became his mentor and best buddy as he tried to help him in every way he could. Callum will miss his granda so very much…. as will his other grandkids.
Paul had the ability to talk to anyone about any subject. This was such a gift. No matter where we were in the world, he would make friends. And if he liked them…. he would always keep in touch.
He became a licensee and a publican, and together we ran some great establishments. We worked as managers for Bass in Grimsby, Derby and finally Nottingham. After many years in hospitality, we went to work in the finance industry where Paul became a Business Development Manager. As the world of finance changed, we jumped at the chance to take a redundancy package which allowed us to work for ourselves. In 2017 we moved to York to run an amazing pub called The Walnut Tree. There. Paul and I made many friends both customers and staff. We remained for 4 ½ years before returning to Nottingham to be nearer to our family and to have a better work/life balance. We bought a tearoom which Paul absolutely loved. He was without doubt the main attraction. He enjoyed talking to our customers and making some of the delicious dishes on offer.
Paul had a wonderful evening on Saturday 22nd April (2 days before he died). It was his aunt's 80th birthday party in Grimsby. This gave him an opportunity to meet with all his family once last time. We stayed that night at Kev (his cousin) and Heather’s house. Paul and Kev sat reminiscing until the wee small hours… and loved every minute of it. In the morning we had an amazing breakfast before heading home.
On Monday (our day off) we decided to have a lay-in. We watched TV and had breakfast in bed, holding hands and enjoying a nice time relaxing together. When we went downstairs, I made us some brunch and he took some food out of the freezer for that night’s dinner before going into the living room. 10 minutes later when I took his food into the lounge, he was gone from me. His time was up and no matter how hard I tried I just could not get his heart going again. At 58 years of age, he had lived his best life. He loved me and I loved him and together we lived our best lives.

I loved him then. I loved him still. I always have. I always will. Angela xxxx

Funeral at Gedling Crematorium, Nottingham at 11am on Friday then The Gedling Inn afterwards.