West Belfast father died from cancer days after meeting first grandchild
by Marie Louise McConville
A WEST Belfast father has lost a year-long battle with cancer just two days after the joy of meeting his first grandchild.
Kevin McKinney (48) from Leeson Street in the Falls Road area, died in the early hours of Saturday.
A former delivery driver, Mr McKinney, who was married and had three children, had been diagnosed with lung cancer.
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In a bid to have more time with this wife, Claudine, to whom he had been married for 22 years, and their children, he underwent 12 sessions of chemotherapy and five sessions of radiotherapy.
Having deteriorated in recent days, Mr McKinney met his first grandchild, Lewis on Thursday.
The new grandfather died in his sleep at his home on Saturday.
Speaking to The Irish News, Lisa Duffy told how the loss of her brother-in-law devastated the family.
"He had deteriorated this last week but he never went off his feet," she said.
"He tried his best not to let it beat him. Kevin was always on the go, running somewhere, walking somewhere or driving somewhere and he still maintained that through his illness."
Kevin and his wife Claudine first met at Coney Island Caravan Park in Co Down when she was 12 and he was 14.
"Until he passed away Claudine was his world," Ms Duffy said.
"He was very family-orientated and that went to his extended family. He loved a joke. He would have walked in and lifted up a room.
"We just feel numb. He took care of everything for his family. Life will be different, hard. We will have to learn to adjust to life without Kevin - my family and his family will have to adjust to a new way of living. It was a privilege to have had him in our lives."
Megan McKinney said the loss of her father had left the family feeling empty.
She said her dad was always concerned for other people and "wouldn't have worried if he had holes in his shoes"as long as everyone else was ok.
"He was very soft-hearted. He was very witty. He loved a joke," she added.
"My daddy worked from he was no age. I am very proud of him, and he didn't stop until he took his last breath. He fought really hard to stay with us and meet his grandson. All his grandchildren will know all about him."