Tributes have been paid to a former Hadleigh butcher who was “loved” by his local community.
Kenny Scarff sadly died at the age of 76 following a six-year battle with cancer.
The former shop owner, whose family opened the butchers in 1890, was loved by his local community after living and working in the Suffolk town for the whole of his life.
Born in 1943, Mr Scarff was the ninth child of his parents Cecil and Jessie, although two of his siblings had died as infants before he was born.
He lived in George Street as a child before becoming an apprentice butcher.
He later ran Hadleigh Food Service for 14 years with his wife Pauline. They married in 1966 and had two children.
Their oldest child, Sarah Nicholson, said her father had a “twinkle in his eye”.
She said: “He did have a sparkling personality and he was funny. He took everything in his stride and just got on with things.
“He was very down to earth and was very practical.
“He was also very well known and much loved in the community because the family has been around for so long.
“My brother Marcus and I grew up knowing that we had to behave ourselves because if we didn’t we knew it would get back to our dad and we would be in trouble.
“There has just been an outpouring of love and care from everybody in the community.
“Dad worked hard throughout but he enjoyed his garden, playing darts and crib at the pub, he followed Ipswich Town and we got our first colour telly when Ipswich made the FA Cup final in 1978.”
Despite first becoming unwell in 2014 Mrs Nicholson said that he faced the illness “head on” and never hid the fact he was undergoing treatment.
“He beat the cancer the first time round but when it returned it was inoperable and he started chemotherapy,” she said.
“The staff at Ipswich hospital was amazing throughout, and Dad with his usual cheery smile was a big hit with the nurses, although Mum made cakes and scones sometimes for him to take to chemo sessions, which no doubt helped.
“Eventually the treatment wasn’t enough to stop the spread of cancer and bravely Dad made decisions about what he wanted.
“Most importantly he wanted to be at home to allow friends and family to visit without restrictions.”
Mr Scarff lost his battle with cancer on August 11. His funeral will be held in Hadleigh on Thursday (September 10).
His last request was to have a single red rose placed on his coffin from his wife, and love of his life for more than 50 years.
In lieu of flowers he asked for donations to be made to Macmillan Cancer Support.
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