A FUNDRAISING day was held in memory of a much-loved son, brother and uncle whose smile always “lit up the room”.

The family of Dan Whittingham said they couldn’t have asked for a better day as people turned out in his memory 12 months after his passing.

Courageous Dan, from Sutton, had cerebral palsy, was a quadriplegic and had epilepsy, and had to undergo numerous surgeries in hospital.

He sadly passed away, aged 23, on April 29, 2023 due to a respiratory infection.

Those he left behind included mum Anne, sister Lisa, bothers David and Gary.

His family decided to hold an event in his memory to mark one year since his passing.

Dan’s Day was held at the Wheatsheaf pub, in Sutton Leach on Saturday (April 27) in aid of Ever Evolving, a special needs group that Dan always enjoyed attending.

READ > 'They are the reason we got to say goodbye': Family's mission to help air ambulance 

“We wanted to do a memorial day for him,” said Lisa, 39.

“He attended Ever Evolving and he loved it, we decided to do a charity day to raise as much money as we could.

“We just know that he’d had the biggest smile on his face knowing that people supported him. He’s really missed.”

Lisa said that despite all the adversity he faced, Dan was someone who always kept smiling and “lit up the room”, with his personality.

“He always smiled and you never saw him cry. Even after operations, he’d come round and smile. He lit up the room and was a flirt!”

Dan’s Day saw entertainment including a DJ, tombola, raffle, bouncy castle and more.

St Helens Star: Attendees wore special 'Dan's Day' t-shirtsAttendees wore special 'Dan's Day' t-shirts (Image: Submitted)

Lisa added: “It was amazing to see how many tickets we sold. We are still getting donations in and we plan on giving the money to Ever Evolving.

“I’m honoured that people put the time out to come and support us as a family, we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

“It was a great day for our mum and for his nieces and nephews, we all had T-shirts printed for him.  

“Thank you to Maxine and Shaun at the Wheatsheaf, and to everyone for supporting us as a family.”

Anyone who wants to donate can contact Lisa Jane Whittingham on Facebook.