Kenneth Smith 1948-2021: Husband, Dad, Grandad and Friend. On the 8 September 2021 your time to go finally came and now you are eternally at peace. 

Below is a message about my grandad I uploaded to my Facebook on 8 September 2021, the day of his passing:

Grandad,

You have always believed you would be reincarnated as a tree, saying you want to be planted and left for hundreds of years undisturbed and in peace. Now you are at peace. But you have always been my tree, solid and unrelenting against the world. You are the heart and the trunk of this family and your loss is felt so strongly by everyone.

Prostate cancer is a cruel thing. 1 in 8 men will get it, 1 in 8 families will feel how we feel. Cancer is brutal. Cancer is watching your loved one slowly succumb to their illness. Cancer starts the grieving process years before the final breathe. Cancer is saying I Love You and never knowing if it will be your last.

I’m so grateful we got over 20 years with my grandad after his diagnosis. Little did I know as a kid that he was creating so many amazing memories, whilst he himself struggled and fought his own mental and physical battle. I’m going to miss you so much.

Love, Amy

Today I am writing to spread awareness of prostate cancer and to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK. Grandad was all about adventures and never saying no to amazing experiences. So we have decided to take part in a charity skydive in honour of our grandad. We have been so lucky to have had so many years with our Grandad. He watched up grow up and encouraged us to be true to ourselves, helping nurture our interests and celebrating all our accomplishments in life. If we can help raise money so other families can have more time to make memories and enjoy as many years as we have had with our grandad, then I know he will be proud of us.

We will be skydiving with Skyline (http://www.skylineparachuting.co.uk), as recommended by Prostate Cancer UK. The skydive company requires a minimum of £395 per person for a charity skydive. As two of us will be jumping this is a total of £790. But we want to exceed this target and donate an even greater amount.

My grandad was all about helping people. I couldn’t think of a better way to honour his memory.

Thank you to everyone for reading about my grandad, he really was an amazing man, and donating to a charity so close to our hearts.