Simon Read (8 Sep 1966 - 13 Jul 2021)

In loving memory of Simon Read who sadly passed away on 13th July 2021.

From Caroline,
Simon had a difficult childhood so when he grew into an adult he treasured every moment of life.
He felt honoured to have friends and lived life to the max.
Everything he did, he played full out, love, tattooing, music, games, motorbikes, holidays.

Simon was a kind, gentle and considerate man unless of course you tapped on his morality meter, he would always be the first to step up and right a wrong doing.

Simon and I were in the beautiful position of being able to spend 24hrs a day in each other’s company.
We made it so our working hours could be spent together and we shared hobbies and passions too.
We really had a laugh.
He encouraged me to play the game of life full out.
He would always remark ‘you’ve only got one life’ then give me that look that said ‘come on, you know you want to’
Anyone who spent 2 minutes in Simon's company while he was in full out mode would know just what that felt like, slightly daunting but so much fun, he always had your back and was big enough and smart enough to protect you too .

One of his passions was his Florida holidays.
He always took time to plan them so they were spectacular.
His great joy was Halloween Horror Nights.
I occasionally questioned that being scared shitless and chased around by Zombies and chainsaws for 2 weeks was an odd holiday but it was so much fun.
Simon spent quite a lot of that time picking me up off the floor and setting me up for scares.
I think the only time I saw Simon show a moment of shock is when a zombie policeman jumped out on him from the shadows...he nearly punched him in the face, the rest of the time, it was pure laughter.

I know that I wouldn’t have had the wonderful, hilarious, enjoyable and fulfilling life I’ve had if Simon hadn’t set it up and pushed us both forwards.
He was my enabler and I his.

Simon was also incredibly brave.
Life threw some pretty big obstacles his way and most of the time the shitty stuff would bounce right off.

His absolute happiness times was when he tattooing.
The deep joy he gained from spending time with family, friends and customers in the big black chair is hard to put into words.
Tattooing fed his soul, it was his place and where he was born to be.
He was truly honoured when people come in to share their stories and let him commit those stories to permanent ink, as long as you sat still of course.

He sometimes questioned his decision to close the studio, he really missed tattooing so he created a studio at home.
With the new amount of free time he had, he trained as a drone pilot and tutor so he could share his love drone flying and aerial photography and he got to spend quality time with the other loves of his life, his dogs.
Simon also threw himself into the world of property where he was driven to create safe homes for families who had fallen on hard times.
He also spent time volunteering at a local food bank, Hope for Food and was meticulous in the putting together of parcels of food for local families.
It also gave him comfort that he had rekindled his relationship with his sister Donna.

Simon still had so much to do.
The grinding, painful regret of not sharing new adventures with him is just too much to bear.
I feel blessed to have had the time I had with Simon.
He was my best friend and I am proud to call him my husband xxx