Tributes paid to Tom Beare MBE

Mr Beare passed away peacefully on July 29. He was the deeply loved husband of Doreen, loving dad of Gareth, Krista and Mark, much-loved father-in-law of Julie and precious grandfather of Thomas, Sophie, Ethan, Daniel and Olivia. The Newtownabbey man helped to develop the portable defibrillator and established Cardiac Services in 1969. Paying tribute to Mr Beare, who was aged in his 70s, a spokesperson for Cardiac Services said: “Tom was our founder back in 1969 and will be sadly missed, but certainly not forgotten, by all his colleagues past and present. “All our thoughts are with the family at this very difficuly time, from everyone at Cardiac Services.” In a statement issued to this newspaper, a Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) spokesperson said: “NIAS is saddened to learn of the recent passing of Mr Tom Beare. “Tom was awarded an MBE in 2002 in recognition of his service to lifelong learning and for his substantial contribution in bringing vital and new medical equipment to our hospitals and local communities, which has resulted in many lives being saved. “He was also a keen advocate for improving care for both patients and families affected by mental health issues. After surviving a cardiac arrest in 2019, Tom and his family were keen to personally meet and thank all of the NIAS involved, and he was a great supporter of our emergency work across Northern Ireland. “We would like to express our sincere condolences to his wife Doreen and to his wider family circle and many friends.” A Service of Thanksgiving will take place on Friday, August 6 at 9.45am in James Brown and Son Funeral Home, 438 Shore Road, Newtownabbey, followed by a private committal at Roselawn Crematorium. A post on the Funeral Times website said: “Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu may be given to Friends of the Cancer Centre online via jamesbrownfuneraldirectors.com “Tom will be sadly missed by those who knew him.” -- A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.