Staff at a Stoke-on-Trent Royal Mail office have paid tribute to a much-loved colleague by naming their new building in his honour.
Steve Cooper, of Chesterton, died unexpectedly in March last year of a massive heart attack, leaving his family, friends and colleagues devastated. The 62-year-old, who had three children and five grandchildren, had worked for the Royal Mail in North Staffordshire for more than 40 years, including time at the Leek Road sorting office and in the old post office in the Ironmarket in Newcastle.
Knowing they would be moving to a new building on Festival Park, his grieving colleagues suggested paying tribute to their friend by naming it Cooper House - and the building was officially opened this week by Steve's parents Mary and Barry Cooper, who live in Haslington close to their daughter and her family.
One of Steve's colleagues, Maxine Penkethman, who works in customer services at the Royal Mail redirection centre, said her friend was 'one of life's wonderful humans'.
She told StokeOnTrentLive: "Steve was one of life’s wonderful humans. He was kind, funny, so sharp and intelligent, gentle, caring and most importantly he was beloved by all of his work colleagues.
"So much so that when management were told about his sudden passing they had to make personal telephone calls to members of staff to let them know because they knew how devastated we would be. I was one of the staff who received a call and, like many other colleagues, was inconsolable.
"On the day of Steve’s funeral, the cortege came to our workplace and was taken around the car park, so that those who couldn’t make the funeral could say a last goodbye to him. Staff lined the carpark to say goodbye.
"We also made a memory book, and put photos and memories into it to give to his family, so that they know how much their son and dad meant to all of us."
Steve's mum Mary said she was proud of how much his colleagues loved her son, a former Wolstanton Grammar School pupil who had a 'thirst for knowledge' and completed an Open University degree in pure maths and statistics in the late 1980s.
She said: "It was a lovely day; it was unbelievable really. It fills our hearts with pride to know how loved he was - and we loved him so much too. No one ever had a bad word to say about him.
"He loved his job and his colleagues and he lived to go to work, for the people and for the job. He had such a thirst for knowledge and he was a wonderful son, a true gentleman.
"He didn't like any fuss or mither and he would have gone mad about all this because he had a shy side. He would have said, 'let's just put a brew on'.
"He was true gift from God and we have been blessed with a wonderful son. I can't praise him enough."