A Huddersfield man who hit the Examiner headlines when he underwent a heart transplant has died, aged 71.
Relatives of Graham Gordon were told by doctors that he would not make it after he lost seven pints of blood during the operation in 1998 at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester.
But half-an-hour later, he had pulled through.
Sadly, Graham was not to enjoy good health for long.
His brother Raymond said: “After the heart transplant his health was generally good, but about four years later he had cancer of the lung due to the medication he was taking and had to have another major operation to remove half his lung.”
Graham was born in Cheltenham and later moved with the family to Basingstoke, where he lived for about 10 years. He then moved to London where he married his Yorkshire-born wife Susan and after about eight years the couple moved to a house near Ravensknowle Park, Moldgreen.
Susan died about eight years ago.
Graham worked for ICI at Leeds Road and later for British Bacon Supplies at Queen’s Mill Road.
He was a keen model railway enthusiast and also loved music, playing the piano for diners at The Keys Restaurant below Huddersfield Parish Church for some years.
He is survived by his brothers, 67-year-old twins Raymond, who lives at Dalton, and Kenneth, who lives in London.
Raymond said: “Graham was a ’quiet celebrity’ in Huddersfield. He was a very well-known chap. He spoke very quietly and was in no way judgemental. He had four t-shirts which he got from my twin brother, who played in a rock band, and Graham would always be wearing one of them.”
A service will be held at 10am on Thursday, June 29, at Huddersfield Crematorium, Fixby.
