Nurse Stefan Nelson-Ewen, 49, was found dead at his home of a suspected brain aneurysm in Crosby Village, Merseyside, and now his friends are putting together his funeral
Friends of a “true gent” have paid tribute to their friend who was found dead in his home hours after saying goodnight to his friends.
Stefan Nelson-Ewen, 49, had returned home after having a few drinks in Crosby Village where he collapsed. It is believed he suffered a suspected brain aneurysm on Christmas Eve, causing his sudden death.
Other than a distant cousin, it is not believed he has any remaining family – so his friends from local pubs and his colleagues at Southport and Formby District General Hospital, where he worked as a nurse are organising his funeral. Chris Johns, 42, who is assistant manager of the Crows Nest, told the Liverpool Echo : “He was one of those people who didn’t have family around him but he had a lot of friends. My friend rang me on Christmas Eve, about one in the afternoon as I was getting ready for the busiest day of the year in work. He said, ‘Stef’s been found dead’. I just couldn’t believe it.
“I was stunned; no one was expecting that. I’d only seen him a couple of days before. There was nothing to say it was going to happen. There was no difference in him, he was just the same as he always was.
“The last time I saw him he said he was popping over to the Birkey for a bit. And I said something like, ‘Okay, see you soon. Take it easy.’ And that was it. I never saw him again.” His wife passed away a couple of years previous so he didn’t have anyone. It was just us; people he worked with and his friends from the pubs.”
Realising Stefan may not receive a proper burial, his friends from the pub and work colleagues came together to organise a “send-off”. Chris said: “We’re all putting our memory and knowledge of Stefan together. His colleagues knew him from a different perspective to how we knew him. They knew him professionally, we knew him from coming to the pub and having a drink.
“He was a bit of an enigma. I believe he was born in Canada and then his parents came to England. The thing is, we’ve all known him for so long, but we never really bothered to actually find that much out about each other. He was just one of those people you could always have a chat with about whatever was going on.
“He was very eccentric. He loved his magic tricks, he’d always be in the bar just doing card tricks for people. He was big into heavier music. He had this metal head appearance, with his leather boots and a chain on his trousers. The pub I work in is quite an old man’s pub and people would look at him because he just didn’t look the part in the place.
“It just shows you can’t judge a book by its cover. His appearance didn’t match his personality. He was a cool, interesting person, and he was very knowledgeable about things. But he never bragged or boasted about that kind of stuff. You had to prise that sort of information out of him.”
Chris has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Stefan’s funeral. He said any leftover funds will go to the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust.
Chris added: “Between us we’re making decisions on the funeral. His cousin is quite elderly, she’s in her 80s, so she’s given us the blessing to plan it on her behalf. We’ve organised the venue and we’re just sorting out the catering now. It would just be nice to give him the send-off he deserves.”
