UK Malayalees will come together today to bid adieu to young father who was plucked away too early from life

By A Staff Reporter

CHESTERFIELD Aug 11: Sony Chacko (44), a native of Kottayam, who died on July 26 in Chesterfield in Derby, will be laid to rest today. Soni Chacko was found lying on the floor with his young children next to him when wife Tintu returned from her shift. The two children, aged eight and three, have been left devastated by the loss of their father, who was a well-known member of the small Malayali community in the Chesterfield area.

Tintu, 37, who works at Morton Grange Nursing Home, near Alfreton, returned to their home in Morton on Sunday to find her children trying to revive Soni, Derbyshire Times reported.

Soni Chacko passed away leaving wife, Tintu, and children, eight-year-old Anna and three-year-old Hayden.

Funeral Services: Starts from 11am to 12 Noon on Tuesday 11th August 2020 at St Patric & St Bridget’s Church (RC), Thanet Street, Clay Cross, Derbyshire, S459JT. The burial will be held at Morton Graveyard, 10 Holland Close, Morton, Alfreton, DE55 6HE

Funeral services will be led by Fr. Mathews Kuriakos, Fr. Happy Jacob, Fr. Tom Jacob, Fr. Binoy Joshua and Fr. Anoop Abraham of the Orthodox Church UK, Diocese of Europe. People are not restricted from entering the church during the service. Attendees need to wear a mask and maintain social distance. Those arriving here must follow the council’s instructions. Funeral services will be broadcast live from 9.45am UK time and 2.15pm Indian time.

Family friend Sreekanth Balachandran with the help of Chesterfield Malayali community had launched an online fundraising campaign to support the family who were struggling financially, with only Tintu currently working, and was already struggling to keep up with the bills. There were also other funds raised for the family by another online newspaper’s charity wing.

Sreekanth Balachandran wrote the below message on the Just Giving page which shows the true spirit the Malayalees in Chesterfield showed to a family at the time of distress.

“Two small kids, one 8-year-old girl and another 3-year-old little boy talking to dad not realising he won’t respond ever again,

“A vibrant young care team leader coming back from night shift finding her husband lying still and kids saying mummy, daddy is not moving” …

This was the scene that Tintu walked into after a 12-hour shift on Sunday morning.

“I just can’t imagine anyone to be in that situation let alone those two little kids and the young mom. This has touched me personally and the small Malayali community in Chesterfield of all who are mostly NHS and other nursing care staff living in and around Chesterfield.

“I arranged everything in advance to ensure I was completely free on Sunday to watch the last day of premier league football. My friend Arun came rushing to inform Soni died overnight while his wife who was working on a night shift supporting patients with covid19 and their two kids trying to awake their dad. Soni was on the floor with his children next to him when Tintu his wife returned from her overnight shift.

“Emergency services were informed, and formalities were completed as required. We already knew the family were struggling financially with only Tintu currently working and was already struggling to keep up with the bills. Close friends are working between us to meet the immediate expenses like the funeral cost and upcoming monthly direct debits.

“We went to meet the family yesterday and spoke to the kids. The poor girl was asking if she could kiss her dad one more time and she had even drawn a picture of a family of four and wrote ‘I love you’ on it. I cannot write anymore…….

“It is a tragic incident which has made a major impact on the 33-year-old mother and the small kids. This has put further pressure on her current job as she won’t be able to get back to work anytime soon as she will now struggle to find child care for her young children.

“We, the Chesterfield Malayalee community which is a small group are helping, but I don’t think that it will be enough for this family, and I am requesting the wider population to generously help and support them. Any amount will help to alleviate their immediate financial pressure whilst they recover from this tragedy. No amount is too small and every support you provide will be highly appreciated by Tintu and the kids.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/soni-chacko?utm_id=107

Thank you

On behalf of Chesterfield Malayalee Community,

Sreekanth