Eulogy put together by Carl’s daughters Leanne, Carla and Amy and his nieces Kelly & Claire Eulogy We are sure you will all agree that today is a sad day to be here. We never thought we would be saying goodbye to such a well loved individual who was taken too soon. Carl was 54 years old when he left this life. We know he will be looking down on us now in his jeans and denim jacket and is not alone as has been reunited with our grandma and grandad. We thought it would be nice to not just be sad today but to celebrate his life and share a few stories. Over the past week there has been tears of sadness and tears of joy. We have sat around drinking tea and remembering the good times. So after going through a good few boxes of tissues and tea bags here are our memories of our much loved dad and uncle. On the 14th May 1958 Irene and Burt Thomasson welcomed their second son into the world. Carl was born in Adelaide Australia and was a younger brother to David and was soon to be followed by his siblings the twins Debbie and Paul. When Carl was young the family returned from Australia and set up home on Cleggs Lane in Little Hulton. As Carl reached his late teens he spent a summer working in Newquay, Cornwall. To earn a wage he would drive tractors and cut grass whilst cheekily eyeing up the local girls. One of his favourite tipples down there was the local Scrumpy cider with a dash of Pernod. In the up and coming years they then moved into their family home on Plodder Lane. Whilst living there he changed job roles and worked along side family members as a Hoffman Press operator at Burtons on Worsley Road. It was here that Carl met Julie. They used to enjoy days out and visiting auctions and on one occassion Carl even returned home in his transit van and opened the doors to reveal a donkey named ‘Binny’ who he saved from the meat man. At Plodder Lane they had their own mini farm consisting of goats, chickens, ducks and horses and not forgetting the families favourite - their bottle fed lamb who was named lamb chop. In 1982 the two youngsters married and a year later the couple welcomed their first daughter Leanne into the world, a year later Carla followed and their family was finally complete when Amy was born in 1988. Over the up and coming summers Carl’s daughters and nieces and nephew enjoyed many days out and have fond memories of the trips out with the full family, going to watch civil war re-enactments and trips to Haigh Hall and the seaside in their grandads transit van. As mentioned earlier Carl worked at Burtons alongside his then wife Julie, sister Debbie and brother Paul. He had many a trade including working in a Bakery in Walkden and he even carried out loft insulations, but Carls true passion was gardening, he enjoyed growing vegetables in his allotment where he also kept chickens and even a couple of pigs. Carl was a much loved Uncle to Davids daughters Kelly and Claire and Pauls children Lisa and Little Paul. Though he didn’t see them a lot they would always see him at family parties and get togethers he was know as their daft uncle who did embarassing drunken dances especially to one of his favourites tracks from the film Dirty Dancing, he was Farnworths version of Johnny Castle - Patrick Swayze. Over the next few years Carl and Julie decided to part and went their seperate ways and in 1993 Carl was out in one of his local pubs when he met Gail. They soon became an item and Carls family grew as he added to his brood by becoming a father figure to Gails children Glenn, Debra and Nicola. Carl loved going on camping holidays and enjoyed his stays in tents though he occassionally lived it up by staying in caravans. In their teenage years Carls daughters Leanne, Carla and Amy went on their first and only holiday abroad along with Carl, Gail and her daughters Debbie and Nicola, this was a week full of laughter and mischief for the girls who sneakily waited for their dad and Gail to go to sleep then creep out of their rooms at night and secretly go drinking in the bar! Not forgetting the time Carla ran into the glass door and knocked herself out. One of Carls proudest moments was when all three of his daughters made him a grandfather at the same time! First to come along was Carla’s little girl Grace then three days later Leanne’s daughter Latisha and soon to be followed by Amy’s daughter Amelia and after having three grandaughters Amy had a suprise when little Luca came along - the only grandson. Sadly there is a new grandchild on the way though they will not be lucky enough to meet their grandad but will hear plenty of stories to keep his memory alive. Carl was also a grandad to Gails daughter Debras children Faith, Amy and Sophie. Carl would enjoy taking Gails grandchildren to Wales where they would stay in a caravan. They enjoyed spending time with the kids and Carl was especially close to Faith who he loved to spend time with they often baked cakes together and she would help him when he was messing with his cars in the garden. We could also describe the cars Carl has owned over the years only we don’t have enough time to go through the long list of motors in his life - our motto was “if the ashtray was full, it’s time for a new car”. Carl was extremely close to his boss Blake who was also a brilliant mate to him. In the last year of his life Carl and Blake spent many a weekend down at their allotment where they would have a host of small animals including chickens. He even had his own incubator where he would hatch baby ducklings and chicks. In September of this year Carl, Gail and some of their friends travelled to Zante this was to be their last holiday together. Carl would be proud of his children who even when going through such an emotional time decided to think about others who were in need and could benefit from his help. They made the brave decision to donate some of his organs and he went on to save strangers who were suffering from serious illnesses. Though this will not take away the pain for their loss we hope people will take comfort in knowing that part of him will live on in others for many years to come. In his final moments Carl was surround by his close family and left this life on one of his favourite days of the year ‘Bonfire Night’ even in his hospital room he still had his own private firework display with rockets exploding by his window lighting up the night sky, it was one of them surreal moments like they were just for him in his final hour. Carl was also a brother in-law to Karen, Christine and the (Late) Christine and Michael and finally he was a friend to everyone. He will be missed and never forgotten. It is safe to say he really has had ‘The Time of his life” Please take a minute of your time to remember him.