A Cornish family lost a beloved husband and father just an hour after learning that the body of their 72-year-old uncle had been found.
Dave Newby’s body was discovered on Sunday, November 19 after the 72-year-old had been missing for four days, CornwallLive reports.
The discovery of Dave’s body was confirmed by his niece Claire Newby – his death is not being treated as suspicious.
Nicole Branwell, 36, and her family were still processing this news when she was told that her husband Ben Branwell, 39, had suddenly fallen ill that same day.
Ben, a devoted husband and father, had collapsed suddenly at home – only an hour after Dave’s body was found.
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Despite resuscitation attempts, popular “class clown” Ben was pronounced dead at his home.
Nicole and her sister Natasha Reid had not had time to inform the rest of the family about Dave’s death when the news of Ben’s tragic passing was confirmed.
Ben, who “thought the world of his family,” leaves behind a grieving widow and a 14-year-old daughter, Layla.
Natasha, Ben’s sister-in-law, told CornwallLive it’s been an “extremely hard time” for the family as they process the loss of the two men.
Paying tribute to Ben, she said: “Anything he could make a joke out of, he would have. Doing absolutely anything to make you laugh was his aim in life and he was just a wonderful, wonderful man.
“He had nicknames for absolutely everything and everyone too and was a completely devoted dad who loved his wife to no end.
“He said several times he would have never found anyone else like my sister and that she was his one.”
The sister-in-law explained the cause of Ben’s death was still unknown to the family but paramedics who attended the scene believed it was a sudden cardiac arrest.
She said: “He had been showing signs of being slightly unwell and was not quite himself.”
Ben’s motor skills had become “slightly off” and he would repeat things he would say, but he had put off going to the doctor, according to Natasha.
The family has since launched a fundraiser in order to handle the double tragedy and raise money to cover Ben’s “unexpected” funeral.
On the GoFundMe page, she wrote: “Obviously, as Ben’s death was so unexpected there are no funds available for a funeral.
“I know times are difficult at the moment but anything anyone can spare would be so greatly appreciated, and will help to send Ben off in style, as he so deserves. Any remaining funds will be placed in a fund for his daughter Layla for her future.”
“My sister is absolutely distraught and she also has health issues herself which have she’s now struggling more with physically and mentally, which is why I wanted to ease the burden of finances for her. In these circumstances finances are the last thing you should have to worry about but, unfortunately, they are the first thing you do worry about.”
You can view and donate to the GoFundMe fundraiser here.
