A community is mourning the loss of the much-loved father of ex-Leeds United striker Brian Deane.
Popular family man and grandad of 12 Cedric ‘Macka’ Deane, who enjoyed a long career at the heart of Leeds’ metal industry, died recently aged 81.
Born on the island of Nevis in 1931, he moved to Leeds in 1955 as part of the first major wave of immigration from the Caribbean, leaving behind his family to prepare the way.
By 1961 Cedric’s wife Josephine and the rest of his family had all settled in the Chapeltown area.
His first job was at the gas works in Leeds where he stayed for 16 years, and, after being made redundant, he moved to Kirkstall Forge.
Finally he switched to Yorkshire Imperial Metals, better known as Copper Works, where he stayed until his retirement.
While all of his three sons and three daughters enjoyed success in their chosen fields, his third son, Brian, enjoyed widespread fame as a professional footballer with Leeds, Sheffield United, West Ham, and England.
His second son, Steven, was also a British and Commonwealth Thai boxing champion and his grandson, Simon McIntyre, plays rugby union with Wasps, having represented England at U18 level.
A private family man, Cedric was a disciplinarian given to few words but was known by family and friends to have dry sense of humour.
He enjoyed a whisky, and, after a couple of drams, was fond of reciting two poems that reflected the Scottish ancestry on his father’s side, The Sea King’s Burial by Charles Mackay and The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna by Charles Wolfe.
He was also a lifelong Elvis Presley fan and a lover of wrestling and boxing.
Cedric had originally intended to return to the Caribbean, a dream he had not fulfilled by his later years. But near the end of his life he told Josephine, his wife of 58 years: “I am satisfied with my life.”
Cedric is survived by his sister Enid, by Josephine, his sons and daughters Tony, Steven, Brian, Wilma, Claristine, and Shirley.
His family also includes his 12 grandchildren, and Elijah, his first great-grandchild.
Cedric Deane died in Leeds on August 27.
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