TRIBUTES have been paid to a dedicated hotel worker who raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Last year the Leader featured daredevil pensioner George Robbie Seddon, known as Robbie, who undertook a parachute jump to raise money for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

Mr Seddon, 80, from Rhostyllen, died at Nightingale House Hospice on April 21 after battling with Motor Neurone Disease.

His wife Joan has paid tribute to “a wonderful father and grandfather” and also praised the work of staff at the hospice.

“He had done a lot of fundraising over the years for charities such as British Heart Foundation,” said Mrs Seddon.

“The parachute jump was the thing he had most wanted to do and because two of our grandchildren had been at Alder Hey he decided to combine fundraising for them with the jump.”

Six days after his 80th birthday last May, Mr Seddon leaped out of a plane high above the Lancashire countryside and raised £2,300 for the children’s hospital in the process.

“He didn’t know it at the time but the illness must have started when he did the jump,” said Mrs Seddon.

“He was diagnosed on December 1 and it progressed very rapidly. He had wonderful treatment at the hospice.

“We don’t know how blessed we are to have such a wonderful place in our area.”

Mr Seddon kept busy and worked as the master of ceremonies for wedding receptions at the Wynnstay Hotel in Ruabon until last September.

Mrs Seddon said anyone her husband knew through work was welcome to attend his funeral.

Mr Seddon also leaves three sons: Mark, Jamie and Jonathon, as well as five grandchildren.

His funeral will be held on Wednesday, May 11, at St Mary’s Cathedral in Wrexham at 10.30am.

The service will be followed by cremation at Pentrebychan Crematorium at 11.30am.