North Yorkshire man’s memory honoured by his wife
Alastair Mackenzie, a self employed gardener from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, took his own life in April 2022. Alastair was married with a daughter and son.
Alastair was a hugely popular member of the North Yorks community and was also active in the local chess club. His wife, Christina, described him as a positive influence in so many people’s lives and that he would often put his own struggles aside to help others – not just friends but anyone he saw in need, he would always take the time to offer advice or practical help.
The news of Alastair’s suicide, understandably, hit the family extremely hard and his death was totally unexpected. Alastair’s mental health issues also highlighted the poor availability of mental health support and services in the area and he was keen to raise awareness of this problem. To honour Alastair’s wishes and in his memory, Christina decided to launch a fundraiser appeal and was overwhelmed by the response, especially from all those whose lives had been touched by Alastair. Initially, more than £7000 was raised from the fundraiser to go to chosen local mental health charities..
Christina was now looking for ways to distribute the money she had raised and several months following the fundraiser, she was introduced to Steve from The Jordan Legacy by a friend. Christina said: ” We knew we had found the right cause to benefit and that we could help bolster the incredible work that Steve and the team at The Jordan Legacy are doing both locally and nationally. But we don’t want to stop there!”
Christina and Steve continued to meet and not long after that initial meeting, one of Christina’s friends and neighbours, who is also a keen runner and always looking for a new challenge, told her that he was embarking on a month long mile builder (totalling nearly 18 marathons). Christina saw this as another chance to spread the message about The Jordan Legacy and our work in suicide prevention. Darren’s incredible running effort, over a gruelling 465 miles, raised more than £2,700!
Alastair was very community minded and one of his other enjoyable pastimes was training at the Gracie Barra Brazilian Ju-Jitsu academy, where he made many new friends and enjoyed the camaraderie he experienced there. Alastair formed a friendship with the club’s founder, Lewis Matthews and in May 2023, Lewis held an open day at the club in Alastair’s memory, raising a further £4,000 through the support of his fellow club members and visitors from the local Harrogate community.
Steve, with Christina and other family members, together with Lewis from Gracie Barra Jiu Jitsu Academy
Our founder Steve Phillip says of Christina: “I have been in awe of Christina, since we were first introduced. I can only think that her calm, measured and cheerful exterior must be hiding a frantic paddling beneath the surface? It’s enough to be dealing with such a tragic loss of her husband to suicide, whilst looking after her family. So, to take such a selfless approach and do whatever she can to raise awareness about mental health and suicide and in doing so help provide us with much needed funds says a lot about what kind of person Christina is.
Thank you Christina, we hugely appreciate what you have helped us achieve so far.💙
