Dublin man passes away with wife by his side after online campaign raises over $100,000

An Irish man whose fight against cancer attracted over $100,000 in donations has died with his wife by his side.

Ronan Winter was diagnosed with stage four oesophageal cancer two days prior to Christmas Day last year having temporarily cancelled the family’s life assurance to save for his daughters’ college fund.

An online campaign to raise funds for the 47-year-old, who moved to California with his family and who was facing huge medical bills as a result of his illness, went viral last week having been set up by family friend Michelle Nagelvoort.

His wife Diane who spent her husband’s final day by his side said:

“We spent the day listening to music, talking about the past and dreaming of the future. We held hands, my husband and I.

“I told him I loved him and stroked his hair. I sat silently and contemplated our life together. The funny times with our beautiful girls, the joyous times spent with family and friends, and the many ups and the few downs of our marriage.”

Having been diagnosed in December, the disease quickly spread to other vital organs and two months later a debilitating stroke left the father-of-two unable to talk or eat.

Explaining that she cried in his final moments, Ronan’s wife said on the GoFundMe page that she was calm as he slipped away.

“He was slipping into the active stage of dying and so he wouldn’t wake. I knew this. I also knew this was our day, and that he could hear me still. I continued talking with him and loving him.

“As the evening wore on, I left the room for a moment and when I walked back in, my soul mate, the love of my life, Ronan, passed away gently in his sleep. I was calm and knew he would want it that way.”

In a final poignant tribute, Diane repeated a familiar prayer that she said Ronan often recited.

“May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand..” she said.

“I love you, always and forever.

Diane xo”

To date, $112,000 has been raised in aid of Ronan and his family. If you would like to donate to the fund visit http://www.gofundme.com/ronanwinterfamily.