[03 JUL 10] CRUSADER NEWS

 Tribute to Gareth Griffiths

1955 - 2010

By Adam Manning

Coventry Crusaders Basketball Club is sad to announce the tragic and unexpected death of ex-match commentator Gareth Griffiths.

Gareth died from a heart attack at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire on Tuesday 8th June 2010, his 55th birthday, after being taken ill for the third time in three weeks.

The keen sportsman was an ever present figure at Crusaders games from the club’s inception in 1992 all the way up to the 2006/7 season, where he produced colourful commentary on the club’s games for Coventry Cable/ NTL television.

Gareth witnessed the Crusaders’ success of league and play-off doubles, to home crowds surging to over 1,000 people, and epitomised the needed values of passion and determination for a successful, growing sporting project.

During that time Gareth’s passion for sport also enabled him to rub shoulders with his idol: British double gold medallist Daley Thompson, ex England rugby player Jeremy Guscott, and more recently British gold medallist Rebecca Adlington.

The 55 year-old Welshman finally decided to call it a day on his media duties to spend more time with his family upon the birth of his granddaughter Millie-Grace in 2007.

His distraught yet determined wife of 36 years, Margaret Griffiths, said she is “absolutely devastated” at the loss, but vowed to follow her husband’s motto to “carry on”.

“He touched the lives of so many people, and our life was a complete and utter love story. He was such a loving husband, father and grandfather.”

Eluding to a sympathy card that her late husband had signed with the words “carry on” last year, Mrs. Griffiths, who lives in Keresley, said she has taken heart from signs she has been getting.

“He put on a card ages ago: ‘from Gareth, carry on’, and my friend said to me ‘did you see the paper when the football was on the day before he died?’ She told me it said on the front pages ‘England, carry on’. And we were all joking around saying ‘God, that’s Gareth’s motto!’ So she put it on the card to me, and that’s more or less what he was saying to me: that life must go on.”

Crusaders owner Robert ‘Dip’ Donaldson followed in Mrs. Griffiths' footsteps by paying tribute to Gareth’s unwavering commitment to the cause, and hailed him as the “voice of the Crusaders”.

“His heart and commitment to seeing the Crusaders becoming one of the best clubs in the country was his passion” he said. “Gareth would ring me up every Tuesday night with out fail to talk about the Crusaders, the players, the last match, and the match to come.”

“He was so supportive of me and he club. His passion was all for seeing and wanting the best for the Crusaders. I will miss him.”

Mr. Griffiths leaves behind wife Margaret, daughter Sian, 25, and granddaughter Millie-Grace aged two. His ashes are due to be scattered in the valleys of his home town of Tonypandy.

 

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