THE mother of a teenager who died in a car crash three years ago is now grieving the loss of her husband.
Anna Hackett has paid tribute to “loving husband and devoted father” Ian after he died in what appears to be a tragic accident at the weekend.
The 58-year-old’s body was found in a dyke in One Way Street, Sutterton, near the couple’s home on Saturday morning.
Mr Hackett had become well-known locally in the past three years since the death of the couple’s son James for his work campaigning on behalf of charity Brake in a bid to prevent other families suffering a similar loss.
James was killed, aged just 18, in a collision on the A16 in Kirton in May 2008.
Just a few weeks ago Mr Hackett featured in our sister paper, the Lincolnshire Free Press, lending his backing to Brake’s call for the Government to take action to stop more young people dying on the country’s roads.
The family has also organised an annual charity football match in James’s honour to raise money for the charity.
Mrs Hackett, of Eastfield Close, Sutterton, said: “It has been a very hard three years for us.
“We both struggled to come to terms with James’s death, but Ian found it particularly hard, which is why he threw himself into working with Brake so much – it was all he could do.
“He put a lot of effort into it, as hard as it was for him, and it was something he would never have stopped doing as it was a connection to James.
“It was his way of keeping James’s memory alive and it helped him tremendously.”
Mr Hackett’s funeral is on Friday, December 16, at St Mary’s Church in Sutterton. The family will walk from the couple’s home to the church as they did when James died, before Ian is buried next to his son.
The family are asking for donations at the funeral for Brake.
Mrs Hackett, who is being comforted by her son Nigel, said: “We had been getting ready for Christmas and I am devastated to have lost Ian, but he knew a lot of people and he touched a lot of people’s lives and the house has not been empty since he died.”