THE FAMILY of a former Eastleigh man is on a mission to raise £8,000 to fulfil his final wishes.
Deon Tilley, 78, died last at the end of July leaving his wife and son "lost".
He had been suffering from a raft of illnesses including "heart disease and lymphoma".
Deon and his wife, Jenny, 76, moved to Llanelli in Wales over ten years ago.
However, Deon always felt close to his hometown and in his final days expressed the wish to be buried there.
Because of the costs involved with this, Jenny and son, Paul, have set up a Go-Fund-Me page to raise £8,000. More than £1,000 has already been donated.
She said: "He always wanted to go home for the ten or 12 years we've been here and my husband will hopefully be going home so that he can be with his family.
"I can't believe how much has been given already. Our son, Paul said one person gave £500 and it's nice to know there are still good people out there.
"It hasn't really hit me yet. I think it will when the funeral comes.
"We were married for nearly 50 years. We would have reached it next year and he said before he died that he wished he could have reached it."
His son, Paul, 47, said his dad wanted to be buried in Eastleigh cemetery "just to be with his grandparents who raised him".
He said: "My parents have never had that much money.
"He loved Eastleigh. It was where he was born and raised and where he raised me. It's his final wish to be back here and all we want is to give him that."
Paul says his dad did what he could "to put food on the table" and struggled throughout his life.
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