When Gordon Riddiough, aged 49, lost his life to a sudden heart attack earlier this year, his family, friends, and work colleagues were left devastated, and in disbelief, that this larger-than-life, fun-loving, and prank-playing dad of two had been taken from them so soon.
While a local defibrillator was made available, and gave him the best possible chance of survival, sadly Gordon, who was from Ballycastle, was unable to be saved.
Gabrielle, Gordon’s wife, is appealing for others to be aware of the risks and to look after their heart health saying; “On the 20th of February, and without warning, my husband of 21 years passed suddenly of a cardiac arrest. He had no warning signs, no pain, just suddenly gone. Whilst he is sorely missed by myself and his two beautiful children, Aurora and Taylor, we know that he used his life to help so many, both personally and professionally. We also know that he would be so proud to be helping Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke in his passing.”
“Whilst painful for us left behind, his legacy will support other families facing the same pain moving forward and we know this will make a difference to others, just as he did during his life. Gordon is, and will continue to be, missed by so many. All that we can say is look after your hearts and love those around you as life is too short. Make a difference when you are able and make your life matter, just as Gordon did.”
Gordon’s passion for cosplay resulted in him creating numerous costumes and outfits within his circle of like-minded friends, using humour to make people feel at ease. Professionally, he was described as ‘a rock’ to his work family at Capita and he was a mentor to many. Despite being a remote worker from home, with his team based in the Blackburn office, his co-workers say he is truly missed by everyone.
Hoping to try and turn a negative situation into a positive legacy, Capita staff decided to support Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke (NICHS) with its plans to expand cardiac services into the Northern Trust area. New services being introduced this year include a family support service and the Heart Strong Cardiac Education Programme. Capita’s support will allow for even further development and expansion of the cardiac pathway within the charity’s care services.
By setting up an NICHS ‘Always In Our Hearts’ tribute page to collect donations and share special memories of Gordon, his Capita colleagues raised an outstanding amount of over £3,600 which will go a long way towards helping the development and roll out of the charity’s new services in the North West.
Joanne Clements, Head of Contract at Capita PIP/FAS, commented;
“Fundraising for NICHS has been an important way for our teams to honor and celebrate the life of Gordon who was a big part of our team at Capita. He had worked here for almost ten years and made such an impact in his role as Clinical Lead. As well as being fantastic at his job, he was a much-loved mentor, manager, colleague, and friend.”
“We are so pleased that NICHS will be able to use these funds to support local families of those who have had members suffer from heart conditions.”
Gratefully receiving the generous gift on behalf of the charity, NICHS Director of Income Generation, Gavin Adams, said, “We are always overwhelmed and very humbled that often the first thought of families and friends coping with a bereavement, especially when in such tragic circumstances, is to want to help others. So much of what we do is only possible thanks to the generosity of the public as almost 90% of our income comes from public donations. Our heartfelt thanks go to Gabrielle, Aurora, and Taylor, and all of Gordon’s caring colleagues at Capita for their support in his memory.”
Find out more about fundraising in memory at nichs.org.uk/how-you-can-help
To learn more about NICHS’s cardiac support services, visit nichs.org.uk/heart-support
