Tributes have been paid to a much-loved North Lakes financial consultant who has died aged 49.
Lee Watson was a well-known figure in his native Keswick through his generous support of a number of sporting organisations in the town, as well as his fundraising activities for local charities.
Lee, who was managing director of Penrith-based O’Reilly Wealth Management, died on February 10 — his birthday — after a long illness.
He and his wife Louise had been married for 16 years.
A huge fan of local sport, he captained Keswick Golf Club at both junior and senior levels and latterly sponsored the town’s rugby and cricket clubs. He was also involved in fundraising for Cumbria Community Foundation and other local charity initiatives over the years.
Louise said: “Lee was very definitely a larger-than-life character, who loved being in company and would always get a laugh whoever he was with.
“But he was also a great believer in supporting local sport, especially for youngsters, because when his own parents split up it was sport that helped him get through it.”
A former pupil at Penrith’s Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Lee graduated from Huddersfield University with an honours degree in business law.
He then joined what was then O’Reilly chartered accountants, becoming a partner in 2004.
Keswick mayor Alan Dunn was a close friend and this week described Lee as a “genuine one-off”.
“I’d known Lee since he was a kid and I used to see him down at the roller skating rink,” Alan said. “Even then he was a unique character, loved by everyone and always prepared to go the extra mile to help others.
“He has been taken from us tragically young, but Lee packed more into his 49 years than most of us do in a lifetime. Shortly before his death he asked me towrite his eulogy – which will be a struggle, because it’s difficult to describe the impact he made on so many people.”
Lee’s funeral will be held at St John’s Church in Keswick tomorrow, February 23.
Louise said: “I don’t know how many hundreds of people will turn up, because so many people knew him. But in keeping with the way Lee was in life, we want it to be a light-hearted affair.”
