Announcements

POPULAR youth football coach Gary Stevenson has died suddenly at the age of 50 while on holiday. Mr Stevenson, club secretary for Wokingham club Reeves Rangers, collapsed and died on Easter Sunday during a family holiday to Cuba with his wife and four children. He was heavily involved with Winnersh Rangers before moving to Reeves and was a highly respected referee who devoted much of his time to developing young referees taking up the whistle for the first time. David Warwick, Reeves’ chairman, said: “Gary was a larger than life figure who did so much not only for Reeves but for local youth football in general. “He was passionate about getting kids involved in football regardless of their ability levels and as a club, we are now considering ways to acknowledge Gary’s legacy in this regard. We will certainly all miss his great sense of humour and out-going personality.” As a mark of respect all of the youth league teams in and around Wokingham, Reading and Bracknell held a minute’s silence before last weekend’s kick offs. Mr Stevenson leaves a wife, Jacqui, and children Sam, 21, Joe, 19, Harry, 17 and Emmy, 15. The family home is in Woosehill, Wokingham. Mrs Stevenson said: “The children and I are still numb with shock. “However, we do take some comfort from the huge number of messages of goodwill and support that we’ve had, not only from close family and friends but also from the literally hundreds of people who knew Gary through his long association with local youth football.” The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations are made to The Reading FC Community Trust to continue the development of youth football. Details at www.reevesfc.co.uk or by contacting Kevin Blee 07768 336165.