Wish we could celebrate properly together today xx
This memorial website featuring a life story, personal tributes, readings, photo's, and stories was created in memory of our loved one, James Merritt.
James was a prince amongst men, a wonderful husband to Kim, a doting "daddy" to Oliver and Evelyn, a fabulous son to Rob & Marilyn as well as being a loving brother to Joanne. We will miss him, and remember him forever.
Born on January 25th 1977, James tragically died following an accident at work on Tuesday October 11th 2016 aged just 39 years. There is no doubting that his family will feel the sad loss of his passing the hardest, but James was such a lovely man who made a lasting impression on all who knew him, that many, many people will be feeling that this is far too soon for the world to be losing one of life's good guys.
However, knowing James as we do, we all must realise that he would never want us to be feeling any sadness. The greatest part of James was his kindness, and his caring attitude towards everybody, and he would want all of us to remember him that way - so let us all follow his examples, by adding our own happy messages here in honour of our friend.
Please feel free to share your personal tributes here. post us your photo's, leave a message along with a photo if you want to, tell us a story of the times you spent with James, or you can add a song that reminds you of him, or even upload a video if you like.
We will be delighted to share you experiences of James, and together we will pay our respects to the loving person that was James Robert Merritt
Tributes
Leave a tributeWish we could celebrate properly together today xx
2023 is drawing to a close and life has changed so much since you were here with us.
We had our first Christmas in our new home, we have a teenage son and a daughter who is becoming an incredible human being.
You would truly adore Oliver and Evie James, I do! They keep you alive and they keep me positive and focused on building the best life I can for me and for them.
I can’t deny that it’s hard, but I continue to try and focus on how privileged I am to be living a life that offers me so many opportunities and choices. How lucky am I to be watching these wonderful humans experience this crazy thing called life!!
And so I will sleep tonight and wake in the morning to the start of 2024. I will seize opportunities and make choices for me, our children, and with you in my heart.
Happy New Year my prince, wherever you may be x
We’ve had a lovely day here at Berrowside today JB
You’re always in our thoughts and our hearts, though on days like this I/we can’t help but wish you had been here with us —- to see the smiling faces of your beautiful children, you would be glowing with pride.
Sadly that wasn’t possible today, but wherever you are now JB — Journey well my friend
Love from nos.2 xx
We’re living in happy times right now but you’re always in our thoughts.
I’ll raise a glass to you this evening my prince xx
Merry Christmas xx
You’ll be proud of Kim, Olly and Evie.
You also be pleased to see that Rob & Marilyn are happy & healthy.
We miss ya JB - but we still chat about you often.
we always will ‘son’
Love from nos.2 xx
It’s hard to believe that 7 years ago I said goodnight to you for the last time.
I kissed you and told you I loved you, and imagined I’d wake up the next day to another ordinary day in our lives. Our happy marriage, our two beautiful children, and a lifetime of plans we were going to live out together.
I can remember that night so vividly and I remember the conversation we had about the tough times we’d experienced, and about life being too precious for us to waste. We spoke about seizing opportunities to make magical memories and I believed with all my heart that great things were destined for us.
But it wasn’t to be was it? You were taken too soon and now I am left to seize those opportunities for the both of us.
I will always cherish that last night we had, that last kiss, that last cuddle, that last innocent moment of thinking we would grow old together before the world changed forever.
I miss you James, I love you and I hope one day I get to see your beautiful smile again xx
My Prince Charming, you will always be in my heart and forever missed by all who knew you.
Goodnight xx
Long time no see!! I think of you often and wish we could talk like we used to.
Heaven gained another angel today, give Theresa a big hug if you see her xx
If you could be here now; what would you say? What would you do? What would you think?
Losing you is still the hardest thing I’ve ever faced James!!!!!
It’s Boxing Day and we’re sat at your mum and dad’s having a lovely day.
It’s still so strange being here without you.
I can picture you in every chair and hate that you’re never in one of them.
Christmas is always an emotional time and missing you hurts all the more.
Oliver is growing up too fast but is becoming more and more the man that you were.
I miss you, love you and pray that you’re somewhere watching and smiling.
All my love
Kim x
Can you believe our little boy is 12 tomorrow?!
It’s 11:45 and I can’t go to sleep until I see 12:10 and remember looking into your eyes while you told me to look at the clock as that was the time our son was born.
It’s a bittersweet day James. I celebrate our baby’s birthday and the amazing young man he is becoming, but I miss you desperately and feel heartbroken that you aren’t here sharing it with him!
I really hope you can see Oliver James, he really is just like you in every way and I’m so proud of him! I know you would be too x
All my love, I miss you my prince xxx
I’m getting married to Loz on Saturday. I know the two of you only met a few times, but I know you’d have got on great. Weddings always remind me of that picture we took of you at Bert and Linda’s wedding with the hat and glasses on and the rose in your mouth. Wish you could be there with us on Saturday mate, we’ll all miss you, but know you’ll be there with us in spirit, and will be raising a glass to you too.
Miss you lots big brother, see you on the other side. Get the Pink Fishes in xxxxx
But I do miss our chats, miss our time together, miss you coming over here, just miss so much.
Most of all miss having the opportunity to watch you with Olly & Evie
It wasn’t to be huh
Hope & pray you’re out there in the great beyond, wherever that is ….
Journey well my friend
Love from nos.2 xx
Been thinking about that last morning we spent together laughing in Evie’s bedroom. Wish we could have stayed like that forever!!
I miss you James, six years is too long to have lived without you xxx
So today is another momentous day and I wish more than anything that I could share it with you!!!
21st July 2004 was the day you entered my life and changed it forever. I still remember our first conversation at the poolside and the week we spent together in Cyprus.
21st July 2007 was our wedding day and the happiest day of my life. It breaks my heart that we didn’t get 10 years of marriage together and today we should be celebrating 15 years as husband and wife.
And today it’s 21st July 2022 and our baby boy is leaving primary school. He is growing into a wonderful young man and the first chapter in his life is drawing to a close. Oliver is so excited to be moving on to secondary school and not having you here to see it is totally unbearable.
Big day for me today James! I’ll carry you with me every minute. I pray that wherever you are you can see it.
Love Kim xxx
It’s midnight and so it’s officially my 41st birthday. I’ll be working on my birthday for the first time in years. In fact the last birthday I worked was the last one I shared with you!
You were on your training induction with Zurich and so it didn’t make sense to have a day off if I couldn’t spend it with you. I just took for granted that we’d take the next one off together and I never imagined I’d never get to share a birthday with you ever again.
You always made me feel so special on birthdays and I’m so grateful for the love you gave me. I’m very lucky to have another man in my life now who makes me feel just as loved and just as special and I feel very blessed to have loved two very special men during my lifetime.
Thank you for being the first and most amazing love. You will always be in my heart and I will miss you forever!!!
Love you x
Memories of you have flooded my mind this morning and I so desperately want to say hello to you and relive some of our times together.
It’s a sunny day and I want to imagine heaven is above me and you’re there looking down.
I miss you so much James xxx
Long time no speak!!!!
Hannah King had a baby last week and I saw a photo of him today. A little boy.
I thought of you and desperately wanted to share the news with you xxx
We had pancake day yesterday and talked about pancakes that you used to make. You come into our lives every day James and memories of you go on and on.
Oh how I wish we could make new ones together. I wish I could see you as a dad to our children. How I wish we could be planning holidays together and talking about work and all the usual stuff that I wanted to share with you.
I got a new job too!!! I’m going to start as a teaching assistant in school. I think I’ll be pretty good at it, maybe it’s my calling and something that will give me a place in my life where I can finally feel settled. A feeling I haven’t really had since you left x
I miss you Mr Merritt!!!! So much!
Love always
Kim x
I remember the first birthday I celebrated with you. I surprised you at your house with a cake, a balloon and Pac-Man and we spent the evening together laughing.
I just knew that I wanted to do that for you every year for the rest of your life!! I love you so very much and although you won’t be with us we will be celebrating your birthday on this day with a cake and a balloon for the rest of our lives xxxx
All my love
Kim xxx
Though you’re not with us in person,
you’ll always be in our thoughts & our hearts
Journey well my friend ❤️
I think of you always xx
I thought tonight of our first new year with Oliver at Stephanie and Malcolm’s and how I snuck in at midnight to cuddle our little boy xx
Happy New Year my prince, I hope you are somewhere out there and smiling x
I miss you x
Merry Christmas my prince!!
It’s been a very quiet day for us this year as Oliver and Evie have been in isolation with Covid-19 but they have enjoyed being at home and playing with their gifts.
Oliver is growing up so fast, we had a great game of Pac-Man together earlier and talked about you.
We also went to the church to leave you some flowers and Christmas baubles (made by Oliver and Evie), and we couldn’t stop wishing that we could have you here in person to give you a different gift today.
It’s been 6 years since we last had a Christmas together and I can’t believe what has changed in that time. I think of you all the time and I wonder where you are and if you can see your wonderful children. If you can, I hope that they make you smile xx
Love always
Kim x
it’s been great fun
But if we could have one more gift - We’d Wish that you could have been here with us
We ALL do
No gift could ever make us happier
Until we meet in the great beyond ….….
Journey well my friend
Love from nos.2 xxx
Miss you brother
X x x
Wishing you were here never ever goes away!!!
16th November 2021 and our tiny, precious, premature baby is 11 years old!!!
I’ll never forget your words “look at the clock” as Oliver was brought carefully into this world. You smiled at me and said “that’s the time our son was born” and you were beaming with pride.
I saw you change in that moment because you were a father and my god it was wonderful to see.
What I wouldn’t give to have you hear now reminiscing about the night our baby was born. What I wouldn’t give to have you hear celebrating our marvellous, miracle 11 year old son thriving!!
He’s a treasure James and he’s so much like you!! I see you in him every day and it’s wonderful.
I miss you more tonight than I could ever describe. But I looked at the clock and I thought of you xxx
Goodnight my prince xxx
Unusually for me I can’t find the words to express how I feel today, so I wrote a small poem in your honour.
I hope thats ok.
. ……………………………………..
If only we could have you back
for just a little while
How wonderful it would be
just to see your smile
……………………………………….
If only we could sit and talk
just like we used to do
You always meant so much to us
and you always will do too
……………………………………
That you’re no longer here with us
leaves us with such pain
But you’ll stay right here in our hearts
until we meet again ……..,,
Journey well my friend ❤️
5 years since we last laughed!
5 years since we last talked about the kids!
5 years since we last did the food shop together!
5 years since we fell asleep talking about how precious life is!
5 years without you in our lives!
Time is such a strange concept because so much has happened in the last 5 years since you left us James, but the memories and the emotions are so strong it’s as though you were with us yesterday.
I pray that one day I will get to see you again and I pray that the last 5 years have kept you somewhere that makes you happy x
Tonight we spent the last night of our holiday in Kingsbridge and I thought of you.
I walked along the quay holding Evie’s hand and thought about how much you have missed not living alongside her.
It breaks my heart James!!!
I remember our trip to Kingsbridge when Evie was a small baby and I could never have imagined then the life that I am living now.
You have left an unbelievable hole that just won’t ever be filled, as our children grow and time moves forward without you in our world.
We miss you so much James, more than I could ever explain!!!!
So strange to be here now remembering this anniversary without you my prince xxxxxx
I hope there is somewhere you can see us and smile.
All my love Kim xxx
I would give anything to have you here to celebrate what a wonderful thing it is to be Oliver and Evie’s Dad.
They adore you and miss you more and more each day. You would have been a wonderful dad and I’m sorry you never got the chance to shine here on earth.
I hope you’re smiling down on them.
All my love, always
Kim xxx
It’s strange to think that in a couple of days I will be 40, the milestone I’ve been dreading for over 4 years because it means entering a phase of life that you never got to see.
I think often of the 40th celebration I would have given you and it breaks my heart that that you were never able to have it.
It feels wrong that I get to celebrate turning 40 when you were denied the chance.
But if losing you has taught me anything it’s that life is precious, and fragile, and not to be taken for granted!
So I will celebrate on Sunday James, for you as well as me. I’ll raise a glass to you and hope you can see it from wherever you are.
All my love
Kim xxx
It’s been a while since I left a message but you are always in my thoughts.
You’re in Oliver’s voice, and in Evie’s laugh and there are so many things in our day to day lives that connect us back to you.
I often want to write to you but knowing I can’t ever have a reply from you seems unbearable.
I miss you my prince!!
While our lives keep moving forward you don't come with us and that will always break my heart xxx
Hope you have a good day wherever you may be. Will be having a drink for you tonight.
Miss you brother x
Oliver has baked you a cake today and you have some beautiful cards here to tell you how much we love and miss you.
It’s hard not having you here with us but we will celebrate you and talk about loving memories of you xxx
I miss you!!
I wish I could talk to you, even if only for an hour or so. It’s such a difficult time at the moment with severe restrictions on our lives and lots of time to think.
Christmas and New year has been and gone. I spent lots of time thinking about our last Christmas together and can’t believe it was 5 years ago !!
The kids have changed so much. They’re so incredible James, you’d love being with them.
I’ve just put some sunny yellow roses by your side, the sun is shining down and it’s so peaceful.
I’ll think of you and miss you.
Love Kim x
Christmas day is just ending here.
I Miss you loads mate.
Never more so than today.
Can’t help but think of you sharing this day with us .... and how great it would be to see you with Kim, Olly & Evie
SInce you passed I always browse through photos of you on this day -that’s my way of having you as part of our day. I placed some more pics onto this page today as well.
But You’re not just old photo’s and memories to us mate — you’re in the songs that we listen to, you’re in the gifts we give to your kids and you always remain in our hearts.
Wherever you are now - Journey well my friend.
Love from nos.2 xx xx
❤️
Leave a Tribute
Wish we could celebrate properly together today xx
2023 is drawing to a close and life has changed so much since you were here with us.
We had our first Christmas in our new home, we have a teenage son and a daughter who is becoming an incredible human being.
You would truly adore Oliver and Evie James, I do! They keep you alive and they keep me positive and focused on building the best life I can for me and for them.
I can’t deny that it’s hard, but I continue to try and focus on how privileged I am to be living a life that offers me so many opportunities and choices. How lucky am I to be watching these wonderful humans experience this crazy thing called life!!
And so I will sleep tonight and wake in the morning to the start of 2024. I will seize opportunities and make choices for me, our children, and with you in my heart.
Happy New Year my prince, wherever you may be x
We’ve had a lovely day here at Berrowside today JB
You’re always in our thoughts and our hearts, though on days like this I/we can’t help but wish you had been here with us —- to see the smiling faces of your beautiful children, you would be glowing with pride.
Sadly that wasn’t possible today, but wherever you are now JB — Journey well my friend
Love from nos.2 xx
Trip to paris
The Perfect Couple
La Cala pic
This photo captures me and my son John at the front of the tee on 12th Hole at La Cala Golf resort in Spain
We were waiting for the group ahead of us to clear, and completely unaware that Jim Bob had taken out his camera.
We waited quite a long time on this tee, & were beginning to get a bit annoyed with the group ahead for delaying us (impatience had long been my weakness) but JB was calm as ever, and taking lovely photo's, whilst we cursed. Which was so typical of him.