Daughter of late footballer Joe Thompson says he was 'the best dad who put other people first'
The daughter of footballer Joe Thompson, who died last month aged just 36, has said he was the 'best dad' who just 'loved to help people'.
Lula Thompson 12, described the Rochdale star as 'funny' and 'positive' and said she had 'so many special memories' of their time together.
Joe died in April after being diagnosed three times with cancer.
Joe was a legend at his former club Rochdale and respected across the sporting community for the way in which he faced adversity and for his fundraising.
His family have issued an open invitation to his supporters to attend his funeral on May 12, saying it was Joe's wishes to have a big crowd there to say goodbye.
His wife Chantelle described Joe as "an incredible man" whose "heart was humongous".
Speaking to ITV Granada's sports correspondent Mike Hall, she said Joe was "thoughtful and passionate", an amazing dad, husband and brother, and someone who "lit up the room".
She said he was "full of positivity, even until the very last day".
Chantelle added: "People say we've had some tough times, which we have - with the three cancer diagnoses, we lost baby Dre in 2021 but even throughout those times we've managed to make the best of the situations and we've made some incredible memories.
"And I think we wouldn't maybe have been as focussed on spending time together and creating those memories if it wasn't for the diagnoses at the start because that kind of made us realise life is too short to not be doing that."
Joe was first diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013 and recovered before the cancer returned in 2017. He went on to recover a second time.
Joe revealed in March last year that he had stage four lymphoma which had spread to his lungs. He died in April with his family beside him.
His career started at Manchester United and ended in Rochdale where in 2018, he scored the goal which kept the club in the Football League, earning him legendary status.
Lula said she still believes her dad is with her.
She recounted how she'd been on a walk just a week after her dad had passed away and after asking for a sign, had looked down to find a row of feathers on the ground..
Lula talks about the signs she believes her dad sent her:
Joe's funeral will take place on Monday 12 May at St Mark's Church in Worsley. His family have issued an open invitation for anyone to attend.
"It was Joe's wishes," Chantelle said.
"We spoke about this prior to him passing. He said he wanted anyone who felt he had impacted them in any way whether by football, personally or work.
"He didn't want it to be a closed funeral. A little bit of his ego would love to see a lot of people there."
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