A MUM-OF-TWO has paid a heartfelt tribute to her husband of 38 years who died last week.

Keith Cumbers, 62, had lived in East Grinstead for 35 years, and was a familiar face about the town after spending the last 33 years working as a taxi driver in the town.

His wife Christine,61, said Keith had a "lust for life".

"He loved life and had a lust for life that you wouldn't believe.His motto was that it was better to burn out than to fade away.He was an avid Queen fan.

"I didn't realise how popular he was until now. I have received so many cards," she added.

Christine, of Court Close, added that Keith worked for almost every taxi firm in the town over the years as he got bored easily.

"He liked meeting different people every day and liked the freedom of the open road and being his own boss.

"But he also had private clients who he drove for years. He became like family to them."

She said that one loyal client, now in his 80s, was so fond of Keith that he was invited in to join the reception of a family wedding.

"They really liked him," she added.

Keith was also ecologically aware and made sure his taxi was able to run on the more environmentally friendly LPG (liquified petroleum gas).

His wife said: "When he came to East Grinstead he was one of the first in the town to put his car on LPG back in the 1970s, before everyone was talking about the environment."

Keith suffered from a mild form of haemophilia (an illness where the blood doesn't clot properly) and had contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion he had because of the disease. But wife Christine said the illness didn't get him down.

She said: "He had a succession of things brought on by the haemophilia, but he wasn't a man to go around moaning. When he went out with his friends it was all put on the back burner and he just enjoyed himself.

"Keith was very sociable. His watering hole was Dunnings Snooker Club and that's where people knew him and liked him. He also used to play golf in Forest Row, and was well-known there."

The dad-of-two and grandfather-of-one died on December 8 after suffering complications caused by the haemophilia after surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in his kidney at hospital in London.

Mr Cumbers is survived by his wife Christine, son Garry, 36, daughter Leigh, 34, and granddaughter Elli Christine, and also his parents Violet and Ronald, both 85, brother Clifford and sister Susan.

His funeral was held on Monday.

The family has asked for donations to be made to the Haemophilia Society, c/o Ballard and Shortall Funeral Directors.
 
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