A father-of-two who died suddenly practiced qualities of “honour, dignity and respect.”

The family of Anthony “Tony” Jones have paid tribute to the 48-year-old who died suddenly at home at Bolingbroke Heights in Flint last month.

The former Naval serviceman and football fanatic is survived by his son Luke and daughter Ricki-Lee.

Luke told the Leader that his father would be “dearly missed by family and friends”.

He said: “Honour, dignity, respect and presentation: these are all qualities that my father held and practiced throughout his life.

“Serving in the Navy gave him the opportunity to travel the world and from these experiences he decided
he wanted to show his family the
world too.

“He saw a lot of the world during his lifetime and he served in the Bosnian War and the Gulf War which sculpted the man he grew to be.”

Tony was brought up in Flint and moved to Devon in his late 30s with his family to run a bed and breakfast before returning to Flint in 2015.

He married at the age 25 and had two children whom he loved playing football with.

The former serviceman took time out of his weekends to coach Flint and Bagillt under 10s football club.

Luke added: “He also loved spending Sundays watching films with his daughter. The ‘Carry On’ films were a favourite for them both.

“He was a die-hard Liverpool fan – he practically breathed football his entire life but also took interest in lots of other sports.

“Other than idolising Liverpool Football Club one of his biggest hobbies was bodybuilding.

“He was inspired by bodybuilders like Jay Cutler and he trained hard and was very conscious of the foods he ate.”

Luke described his dad as a “hard working man” who saved “to take his family on holidays abroad so his children could see the world with him.

“His love, understanding, caring nature and amazing sense of humour will never be forgotten and he will be dearly missed by his family and friends,” he said.

Mr Jones’ funeral will be held at St
Mary’s and St David’s Church in Flint tomorrow at 11am followed by committal at Blacon crematorium, Chester.

Family flowers only but donations if desired should be made to the Royal British Legion.