The community was left shocked when the Kesh man died from a blood clot last August. A father-of-three and a grandfather-of-five, Mr Hunter was a well known building contractor in the area. The 68-year-old’s family has since been raising money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF NI), having asked for donations to the charity in lieu of flowers at his funeral. The family have raised £1,525 for the charity. 

Mr Hunter’s daughter Jill McCreery manages the BHF shop in Enniskillen. She said the community had wanted to honour her father.  

“Daddy died from deep vein thrombosis and it came as a massive shock,” she said. “He was fit and active and well known throughout the community for his building work. Just a few weeks before he died, he was up on the roof of my house fixing a tile. It was so sudden and very difficult for us to take in as a family.”

Ms McCreery said that through working with the charity she knew the impact its lifesaving research has on patients and their families. 

“When daddy died from a circulatory condition, we knew that we wanted to donate to the BHF in his memory and fund the charity’s research into heart and circulatory disease,” she said. “We are touched that so many people from our community donated in his memory and I know the money will be put to good use and hopefully save other lives in the future.”

Ms McCreery added: “It has been a hard year for everyone and hard enough to lose a family member during the pandemic,” added Jill.

“We are grateful to everyone who has donated and who has shown us so much support after his death.”

Head of BHF NI, Fearghal McKinney, said: “Fundraisers, like Cecil’s family and friends, bring us one step closer to our ultimate goal of beating heartbreak forever. We simply can’t achieve that without them.”