The wife, son and friends of a much-loved family man from Aspatria have raised more than £26,000 at a charity night in his memory.
Two years ago Andrew Mounsey sadly passed away in his sleep from an unknown heart condition at the age of 54.
The father-of-one who ran his own joinery and UPVC business, was well known and respected and has been described as “the face of Aspatria”.
His wife Lesley Mounsey, who was with Andrew for 28 years said: “There’s a lot of people who told me that he was there for them. He cared, he was a friend to many, and he liked helping people. He even worked as a doorman at the weekend in Keswick because he enjoyed the social aspect of it.
“He was a big family man and thought the absolute world of our son Joe. His favourite thing to do was go on family holidays, he loved to travel.”
At Andrew’s funeral there was a collection for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), which is a charity that responds to ill and injured people in the North of England and the Isle of Man.
His friend Glenn Wilson, 55, said: “On the day of his funeral, I’ve never seen anything like it, Aspatria has a very big church but the church yard was packed because there wasn’t enough room for everyone inside”.
Mrs Mounsey said: “We have always supported GNAAS, so we decided that any donations for his funeral would go to them. We’ve watched the helicopter going past and take off, and it’s just something that we’ve always supported. It’s a good local charity that any one of us could need at any point.”
Mr Wilson, George Lattimer and Adrian Kirkbride, who had been friends with Andrew since their school days, asked Mrs Mounsey if she would be happy for them to organise a fundraising night in Andrew’s honour for the charity of her choice. Mrs Mounsey not only agreed to the night but co-ordinated the whole organisation.
The event was sold out before it was even advertised and more than 300 people attended the evening in February at the Greenhill Hotel in Wigton, who kindly provided the venue, helped organise the evening and contributed prizes and donations.
Mr Wilson’s band The Misfitz played a range of soul, ska and rock and roll songs, following an acoustic set by Damon McRea, and finished with an 80’s disco.
There were over 170 raffle prizes that were generously given by local people and businesses as well as several luxury items up for auction, including spa days and Farmhouse getaways.
Mr Lattimer said: “The auction went a bit bonkers, and we had some amazing local businesses supporting us. The generosity of both the businesses and people who attended was unreal, and there were a lot of people who helped to make this a successful event, so we can’t thank them enough.”
The fundraising night raised £26,140 for GNAAS and a cheque for the amount was presented at the charity’s base in Langwathby, Penrith.
Mrs Mounsey said: “We worked as a fantastic team, and it was good doing something in Andrew’s memory because you never want anybody to forget him.
“George Lattimer of local company Lattimer Homes brought in most of the large auction prizes. Andrew had worked alongside Lattimer’s on various projects so many of the companies donating knew him well and were very keen to play their part in making the fundraiser in his memory as successful as possible. We definitely could not have raised so much without the help of George.
“Special thanks also go to Raymond Milburn who was the auctioneer on the night, and Judy Williamson and the Harrison family who helped with the raffle and auction.
“Finally a massive thank you to the local community and businesses that contributed to the fundraising. We knew Andrew was well known and popular but it was a shock seeing how much money was raised.”
In total £29,130.54 has been raised in Andrew’s memory since 2023 to support the work of GNAAS.
Mrs Mounsey and their 19-year-old son Joe, along with Mr Lattimer and Mr Wilson were recently given a tour of GNAAS’ aircraft and shown the kit which is used to treat patients.
Mrs Mounsey, who works as a Donor Care Supervisor for NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “It was interesting for me as I work for the Cumbria blood collection team who travel around Cumbria collecting blood donations. I got to ask about the blood that is carried on board the helicopter, and it was good to see that what I’m doing in my job is helping people.
“We decided to visit on the anniversary of Andrew’s death as we want to do something special every year to honour his memory. We’re really pleased we could help GNAAS and it’s amazing to know the money is going somewhere local. People are still welcome to donate to GNAAS and ‘Give blood, save a life’ in Andrew’s memory.”
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