Heartbreak as 52-year-old father of five found dead on ferry to meet friends

Jon Morley, 52, was on his way to Liverpool to visit friends in the city with his son and daughter when the tragedy struck on a Dublin to Holyhead ferry

A father of five was found dead by his daughter on a ferry between Dublin and Holyhead.

Jon Morley, 52, was on his way to Liverpool to visit friends in the city with his son and daughter when the tragedy struck.

His heartbroken family described his death as “completely out of the blue” and said he appeared “fit and healthy”. This is reported by the Liverpool Echo.

Jon, who has lived in Liverpool for over a decade, has been described as a “family man at heart”.

He leaves behind four sons and one daughter.

Brother-in-law Dave Herron said: “He was living in Dublin after spending many years in Liverpool and he was bringing his two children to visit friends in Liverpool on the Stena Line and he was feeling a bit tired so he decided go to sleep somehow.”

Dave said Jon’s daughter, who is in her early teens, tried to wake up her father when she found out he had died in his sleep.

The results of a post-mortem conducted by a North Wales coroner revealed that John had died of complications from a heart attack and heart failure.

Dave has now set up a Gofundme page in hopes of helping the family cover the cost of Jon’s funeral once he is repatriated to Ireland.

Dave paid tribute, saying: “He was a good guy, family oriented. In his younger years he was the life and soul of the party, but as you get older, you will [are not] the life and soul of the party.”

Dave said Jon, who worked as a tiler, surprisingly tiled the floors in his house while his partner was in hospital. He added: “He was one of those guys who would do it if you needed a favor, if he could help you. He was a family man at heart.”

“It came completely out of the blue. He seemed fit and healthy. [The family] are absolutely devastated. It absolutely came as a shock.

“We knew he was going to Liverpool with the kids for a few days to see friends but that’s the last thing we expected.”

The fundraiser to support the family can be found here.