Jeff Begg, the life and soul of whatever party he was organising at Edinburgh ME Self Help Group (edmesh), has died after taking a serious fall in his garden just before Christmas. He was aged 60.
Jeff, who had been the group's social secretary for almost 15 years, was taken to hospital after the accident on December 21. But he suffered complications in theatre and passed away on December 27.
“He was particularly fond of organising the visit to the panto, the Christmas lunch and our annual garden party.” said group treasurer Margaret MacLaren, a long-time friend, this week.
“Jeff had this knack of making people feel comfortable and this last Christmas it was almost as if he had a hotline to Santa – 10 days before the accident he was at our party, dancing about in costume.”
Margaret added: “He put his heart and soul into everything he did.”
An electrical engineer before he went down with M.E, Jeff also volunteered for the well-known Scottish charity, the Thistle Foundation, where he ran lifestyle management classes for people with long-term health conditions. At edmesh, he organised over 40 different events, each leaving a host of happy memories.
Jeff leaves his wife, Caroline, and two sons as well as his Mum. The funeral will be at Warriston Crematorium, Edinburgh, on Tuesday, January 12, at 10am, followed by Portobello Cemetery.
I am very sorry to hear about Jeff, I met him a few times at Edmesh events, such a lovely man. My thoughts are with his family.