Paul Shears, aged 53, passed away suddenly at his home in Charminster on September 30, leaving behind his wife and two sons, aged 12 and 15.
His partner of 17 years, Anna Shears, described Paul as happy, but a little bit clumsy, with fond memories of his ‘lopsided smile’.
The pair met in Bournemouth while cremates in the ambulance service.
“He just wanted to help in whatever shape or form he could, and being a paramedic it was often the medical side, but also with his colleagues he was happy to instil knowledge, support, chat things through,” said Anna.
In his 30s, Paul suffered with testicular cancer, but Anna said he was eager to raise awareness.
“He wanted to raise awareness because men are bad at talking about their health, whether that’s mental health or physical health.
“That’s the type of person he is, in the fact that he didn’t want other people feeling alone.”
Paul was diagnosed later in life with Autism, at the age of 51, after his children were diagnosed.
“Paul found an acceptable of himself through realising he was autistic,” said Anna.
“It helped him relate to the boys and vice versa to see that Paul succeeded as a paramedic and in a career.”
When Paul suddenly passed away his bank accounts were frozen, including his joint account with Anna and his personal account containing his income.
Anna said the ‘cash flow’ stopped but living expenses carried on, as well as the added cost of Paul’s funeral.
“I want to honour Paul,” said Anna.
“I want him to have the celebration, the sendoff and the farewell that he deserves.”
A Go Fund Me to support Paul’s family financially has so far raised over £4,700.
Donations can be made on www.gofundme.com/f/c6qmmd-paul-shears.
Anna added that she hopes by sharing Paul’s story it will ‘open the conversation’ around mental health.
“Helping and listening to others was something that Paul was so passionate about.
“I want to keep that passion that he had alive,” she said.
Anna added: “I want people to reach out.
“It might be extremely difficult to do so, and it might take absolutely everything, but I can assure people that their loved ones around them would much rather that.”
