You call him Mark or you call him mate, some even called him Boris! But I was lucky enough to be his nephew and he was uncle to me.
The void created by the sudden death of someone as beloved as uncle Mark is still difficult to grasp.
He was someone we took for granted would be around for much longer.
His laughs, his sarcasm, his sincerity...
I can still hear his laugh and see his smile and that will never leave.
Over the last few weeks I have received an overwhelming amount of kind words about my uncle Mark, all of which perfectly epitomise this wonderful person.
Words such as...
- Mark was one of the nicest people you’d ever wish to meet
- Mark minded his own business and never bothered anyone
- Mark always had time for you
- Mark was a really lovely fella
- Mark was an absolute gentleman and one in a million
I completely agree with all of those comments and my family take a great deal of comfort knowing that Mark was liked by so many.
He had an enormous amount of integrity, kept to his morals and principles throughout his life - which is very difficult for any man, especially in this day of age.
I’ll miss my uncle for a number of reasons and it pains me that I’ll never be able to speak with him again, but I’ll forever cherish the times we had and the memories that I will continue to hold.
I’ll miss our football chats
I’ll miss the Sarcasm (which you took to another level!)
I’ll miss you moaning about Millwall letting you down on your betting slip
I’ll miss being able to pop round and watch boxing with you
I’ll miss our trivia on the Sopranos tv show
I’ll remember you giving me £20 for scoring a goal in the youth cup final
I’ll remember you falling over on our night out after drinking too much beer
I’ll remember you telling off Nanny Eileen because she bought me a West Ham top
I’ll remember being young and watching you play Battleships and Scrabble against my dad and listen to you curse because you were never able to beat your older brother
I’ll remember you taking me to my first ever Millwall football match. It was at Cold blow lane in December 1983 and I’d just turned eight.
I’ll remember you lifting me over the old turnstile so we didn’t have to pay to get in.
I’ll remember us standing on the halfway line munching cheap hamburgers and drinking Rola Cola.
I’ll remember winning one-nil that day and us both singing “no one likes us we don’t care”.
I’ll remember so much, thanks uncle Mark.
Poem
I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too
I think of you in silence I often speak your name
All I have are memories and your picture in a frame
Your memory is my keepsake with which I’ll never part
God has you in his keeping I have you in my heart
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