Tributes paid to popular Wigan dad as thousands donated to funeral and family fund

Many tributes have been paid following the death of Dave Crowther on April 8 from a suspected heart attack.

He is survived by his three children: Kenny, 29, Albie, 11, and eight-year-old Imogen.

Born and bred in Golborne, Dave was the son of Doreen and Albert and had three brothers.

He had numerous jobs, including transporting people from prison to court and working in a butcher’s shop.

His sister-in-law Michelle Brown-Crowther, who is married to Dave’s brother Alan, said his main loves were his children and football.

He was a loyal supporter of Liverpool FC, attending his first match at the age of 10 with his brother Alan and going on to have a season ticket for more than 30 years.

Dave went to both home and away matches and was at Hillsborough Stadium on the day of the disaster 31 years ago.

He was part of four generations of his family to become loyal supporters of the team.

Dave also loved music, particularly house music, and enjoyed going to Cream nightclub in Liverpool as well as to the pub with friends.

Michelle said: “He was fun and always opinionated. He loved to put things on Facebook and wind up people, he was a proper joker. He would wind up people and even when he was wrong, he would be right because he would twist it. He loved winding people up on Facebook and getting lots of comments.”

Dave’s death came as a “massive shock”, she said, and three of his close friends suggested setting up an online fund-raising page to pay for a funeral and help his children.

The initial target was £1,000, but more than £5,600 has already been given.

Emma White, a friend involved in setting up the fund-raiser, said: “He would give you his last penny. He was a really nice man. He was well liked in the area.

“We are absolutely made up with how much has been given. We thought we would leave it a couple of days and see what happened. We didn’t expect it to get so high. We are overwhelmed with it, absolutely made up.”

Another friend Tommy Harrington said: “It was a shock when he died, the ultimate shock. He was Liverpool FC-mad and the banter he had with the lads was unbelievable.

“When we found out he had died, we knew his family would have to pay for the funeral so we asked if we could set up a GoFundMe page. We thought we might get about £1,500 but the more it got, we couldn’t believe it. He was a popular lad.”

Tommy pledged to shave off his hair if it reached £5,000 - something he had to do on Sunday.

Michelle said: “It’s been a massive help to his mum and the rest of us to know the love and support out there for him. We knew he was popular but this is unreal. It’s a massive comfort and we can’t thank everybody enough.”

She praised everyone in Golborne for their support, describing it as “a wonderful little town full of amazing people”.

The coronavirus pandemic means a date has not yet been set for a funeral, but his family would like to hold it at St Thomas’ Church in Golborne.

Michelle said: “He had a lot of close friends who are United fans and they have even said at his funeral - we don’t know how many people are allowed to attend - but if they have to, they will stand outside and sing You Will Never Walk Alone as a tribute to him.”

A large celebration of his life is being planned for a future date and it is hoped a charity day will also be organised in aid of the NHS in his memory.

The online appeal in Dave’s memory can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/to-help-the-family-of-david-brown-crowther.