Les Samuel

I will never forget my beautiful niece Katie. I can remember going to see her a few hours old in Epsom hospital, a tiny bundle with loads of hair. When my brother and Avril went on holiday to Portugal with Katie as a baby she fell when Avril was changing her. They called me and i remember rushing to meet them in a panic at Heathrow and bringing back to Banstead so they could get her checked out at hospital. Of course she was fine and no harm was done. I was honoured to be asked to be her Godfather and she has always been my favourite.

I used to love winding her up regarding football talk about Arsenal and she always rose to the taunts I would give her. They were always in jest but she never backed down and defended her team to the hilt. (Even though they are boring). In everything she did she gave her all. She was never the perfect athlete or gymnast but she would try to teach me to do cartwheels in the garden. Something I never really perfected but she did. Katie and Sara both went to ballet classes and would show each other what they had learnt and would both think they were better than each other. She also became quite an accomplished tennis player and later trained incredibly hard and completed twos London Marathon. Something that made me very proud of her.

Katie and Rich’s wedding was a wonderful day and I have never seen her look so beautiful or happy. They were the perfect couple and always looked so good together. I will never forget her and talk about her every day. I have a photograph of her in my pocket when I work and am convinced she is my Guardian Angel and is somehow getting me good, profitable jobs at work. Every time I complete a job I take out her photo and say “thank you Katie”. I will never forget her and she will live in my memory and heart forever.