7:50am Tuesday 3rd November 2009
A POPULAR pub landlord and loving father has died suddenly aged 42, after battling the superbug MRSA for four years.
Dad-of-two Steven Lunn used to run the former Blanchfields Bar in Rochford, as well as the Blanchfields Brewing Company, and he used to help organise a beer festival at the pub, in Southend Road.
After a long battle against diabetes and MRSA, Steven died after collapsing at his home in Durham Road, Hawkwell. The cause of his death is still being investigated.
He leaves his partner Linda Pullen, daughters Abby, 11, and Maddie, eight, mum Tricia and brothers Gary and Richard.
Tricia, 63, said her son would be sadly missed by all those who knew him.
She added: “The family are absolutely devastated, all of us. His brother Richard is finding it particularly difficult.
“He was a really loving dad to his young girls – they always came first in his life.
“Steven had a lot to put up with.
“The diabetes and the MRSA made him feel very unwell a lot of the time, but he tried very hard not to show it to everybody.”
Tricia described Steven as “very quick-witted” with a dry sense of humour.
She said: “When he did the pub quiz, he would make funny remarks to the customers.
“Everyone took it in good heart.”
Tricia said doctors were still investigating how Steven died, but the family think it may have been due to a heart attack.
He was discovered collapsed in the kitchen of his home by Linda on Wednesday, October 21. Paramedics tried in vain to resuscitate him.
There will be a post-mortem examination into the cause of death and, at the moment, there are no funeral plans.
Steven was forced to sell the family-run brewery back in August 2007 when he had his right lower leg amputated as a result of a two-year battle with the superbug. It is not known how he contracted it.
He spoke to the Echo at the time about his heart-rending decision to sell the family business because he was unable to carry out the driving and lifting work which goes hand-in-hand with running a brewery.
Steven later had to sell the Blanchfields Bar, now called the Horse and Groom, for health reasons after running it for about 18 months.
The pub was well-known for offering real ale lovers a wide range of drinks, including its own brand of beer, Rochford 750.
Steven also used to run an annual beer festival, featuring more than 30 ales and ciders and live music, which raised money for Prostate Cancer Research and Epilepsy in Children.
Drinkers at the Horse and Groom fondly remembered Steven’s tenure as landlord.
One, Mick Sibley, 55, said: “Steve was very affable and friendly.
“He always wanted to speak to his customers.
“I would describe him as a proper old-style landlord.
“He would sit at the end of the bar making sure the service was of a suitable standard.
“He was a very nice bloke.”
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