Anthony John Brassington “Tony”

“You are no more than a thought away.”

Tony sadly passed away on Monday 21st March in the care of the Kenyatta National Hospital in South Africa, aged just 53 years.

A loving son, brother and friend to many, Tony will be sadly missed but lovingly remembered by all his family and friends.

Pat’s beloved son, Anthony Brassington, fondly known as Tony or Brillo – and I smiled as she and Karen explained his dad Tony was known as Brasso, they were both train drivers on the railway so other than Tony junior and Tony senior, Brillo and Brasso were the nicknames their workmates used to determine who they were talking about.

Originally planning to stay two weeks, Tony went out to Africa last November but then after delaying his return, he suddenly felt the urge to come back to Crewe, and after a new flight was booked for the following day, his family thought he would make it home,  sadly it wasn’t to be.

Tony’s journey was up and down and took the wrong path many a time, he had many years in the Wilderness, he lived with his mum intermittently over the years, actually ten years latterly and he also lived at times with his much-loved sister Karen.

Tony was also an uncle to Dale who is keen on music much like Tony, Charlotte who was his very own personal assistant when it came to technology and shares his exceptional artistic talent – in fact he contacted Aardman’s the creators of Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep singing Charlotte’s praises to try and open doors on a career for her with the animation studio and he was an uncle to JJ and fond of Bobby’s husband Ryan.

He was a great uncle to three boys and one girl, Logan always called Tony ‘upatee’ because he used to ask for a cup of tea.  He had some good friends over the years including Roger.  He and Roger had a shared passion for racing pigeons – they met because Roger lived in Tony’s great grandad’s house.

And Tony was close to Chemi and her son Jayden.  Jayden always called him Daddy Tony and Tony was incredibly fond of him.

Tony was described to me as someone who could be cantankerous, he could test the patience of a saint yet he would have all the time in the world for anything with paws or claws and had a heart of gold like when he was a young lad, he saw some lads throwing stones at an injured crow, he chased them off, took the bird home, nursed it back to health, feeding it with mince and bathing it in a washing up bowl.  It had the run of the house, sat in front of the fire and stayed in the lap of luxury for sixteen months until one day, it suddenly took off.

He had countless pets throughout his life, including a white rabbit called Steve McQueen, hamsters, gerbils and Pat told me about the one he brought back to life by warming it in his hands.  He adored his dog Skip, Kipper or Kip as he lovingly called her – and apparently acquired her when he had the chance to buy a house off a work colleague in Holyhead.  His mate said he would sell to Tony on condition he also took on the black Labrador cross, so it was a done deal, Tony had her for over twenty years and she was so obedient, she never needed a lead.

Tony was welcomed into the world in 1968, seven years earlier than Karen and when she arrived, he wanted her named after the girl he had a crush on in school.  Karen always looked up to Tony when they were younger, in fact he always used to say he brought her up and she was never far away when he was up to mischief like the time, they were both leaning out of the bedroom window squirting football fans with water.  The police were called but when they knocked on the door, Tony and Karen denied doing it except the water running down the wall was evidence enough for a telling off.

Tony and Karen weren’t just brother and sister, they were best mates, and he was a father figure to her because she rarely saw eye to eye with her dad.  She and Tony also had their arguments but always had each other’s back when the chips were down.

Their dad used to say he had two children, one who wouldn’t be told, and the other who had an answer for everything (Karen).  And they in turn called their dad Mr Know it All!

I gather Tony left school on the Friday and started on the railway the following Monday, but he always maintained despite his dad being a train driver, he got his job on his own merit, his dad may have put a word in, but it was Tony who sat and passed the exams.

In the late eighties, he moved to Holyhead to become a train driver as there were no vacancies in Crewe and Karen joined him there for a while.

After two years, Tony parted company with the railway, he returned to Crewe in a transit van with a fridge freezer, washing machine and of course his beloved dog and did various jobs including carpet fitting and working with Bobbins for a long time.

Tony will be much missed by his family and friends

A service to celebrate the life of Tony will be held at the Crematorium Chapel, Crewe on Friday 22nd April at 1pm.

Donations in memory of Tony will be gratefully received on behalf of RSPB.

For any further information regarding Tony’s funeral please call our funeral home on 01270 584447.