Tributes paid to Wakefield 'legend' Mathew Pape
‘He was a legend and we’re going to miss him.’
Tributes have been paid to Wakefield man Mathew Pape, who died aged 39.
Mum Christine said: "He was a bright, bubbly and cheerful. He was everything you would want in a son.
"Everyone he met had something to say about him. He just loved everybody. He was one in a million.
"He helped people that were sleeping rough. If he was getting a McDonald’s he’d get them a McDonald’s. He’d buy them a quilt to cover themselves up. That’s who he was. He shone everywhere he went.”
Mathew, from Flanshaw, took his own life, his family said.
Christine said: “We’ve had hundreds of texts, messages and cards from people telling us how much he’s going to be missed.
“People have been coming every day just to make sure we’re OK.
"If he was here today he’d be buzzing.”
A gathering was held in Flanshaw where scores of people gathered to celebrate his life.
They lined up their cars, Mathew’s hobby, in his memory.
Sister Zoe said: “He would just help anyone. If your car broke down or you had a flat tyre he would have been the first to stop and he would want to help you.
"There’s people who said they only met him once but he changed their lives. He would sit down and talk to them.”
Dad Barry said: “He was a legend and we’re going to miss him.”
At a memorial in Flanshaw at the place he died, friends gathered and floral tributes stretching yards and yards had been placed.
Daughter Olivia said: “I loved him.”
He leaves Oliva, son Rogan, and siblings Lisa, Joanne, Stuart, Donna, Carol and Zoe.
His funeral will be held on Friday, May 2. The cortege will leave Townley Road, where his parents live, at 11.45am, following by a service at St George’s Church and a burial at Wakefield Cemetery.
There will be a horse and carriage and a Lamborghini following behind.
And on Sunday, May 4 a garden tribute day will be held at The Lupset pub, featuring Mathew’s favourite music.