Billie Shepherd’s husband Greg has revealed his beloved dad Dave has died aged 77, as he shared a heartbreaking tribute to him on Thursday.
The reality star posted news of Dave’s ‘sudden’ passing on Instagram along with a collection of photos and videos of him, admitting he ‘still had so much more to give.’
In his heartfelt statement, Greg wrote: ‘I’m gutted and heartbroken to be writing this, but this time last week, my dad Dave passed away suddenly.
‘He was 77, but still had so much more to give, and that’s what makes this so hard.
‘From the age of 4, you raised me as your own. You taught me how to be a father, and you made it look simple, you were always present, no matter what. You never missed a birthday, a celebration, or any important moment. You always had time for me and my sisters and grandkids.
‘I hope I can be the kind of man you were, Dad, always smiling, always dancing, the most grateful man you could ever meet, and always there for us.
Billie Shepherd ‘s husband Greg has revealed his beloved dad Dave has died aged 77, as he shared a heartbreaking tribute to him on Thursday
The reality star posted news of Dave’s ‘sudden’ passing on Instagram along with a collection of photos and videos of him, admitting he ‘still had so much more to give’
Greg shared a lengthy tribute to Dave in the caption of his Instagram post, admitting he was ‘heartbroken’ to share his ‘sudden’ death
‘All my friends had a relationship with you too, the parties in our bar will never be the same without you.
‘I can only try to make you proud, and learn how to live with just 36 years of memories, love, and happiness.
‘Until we meet again, our kid… I love you more than you’ll ever know.’
Greg’s wife Billie shared her own tribute to Dave, writing in the comments: ‘The best father in law , dad and grandad anyone could ever wish for, love you forever Dave with all my heart, life will never feel the same without you.’
Her sister Sam, added: ‘He truly was such a wonderful man.’
TOWIE’s Jordan Brook also commented: ‘So sorry to hear this mate sending you and family lots of love.’
Dave had also regularly featured on Billie and Greg’s show The Family Diaries, and viewers of the ITVBe show shared their memories of him.
Comments included: ‘Was just watching the episode of the family diaries where wee Margot was born and your dad and chatty came round to visit and your dad was singing to Margot ‘raindrops keep falling on my head’ so sorry for your loss Greg.’
In his heartfelt statement, Greg wrote: ‘I’m gutted and heartbroken to be writing this, but this time last week, my dad Dave passed away suddenly’
In his post, Greg shared a huge gallery of snaps and videos of Dave alongside his grandchildren, including some from a recent family holiday
Greg added: ‘I can only try to make you proud, and learn how to live with just 36 years of memories, love, and happiness’
In his post, Greg shared that Dave had ‘treated him like he was his own’ since the age of four
Dave had also regularly featured on Billie and Greg’s show The Family Diaries, and viewers of the ITVBe show shared their memories of him
Billie, her sister Sam and many of their TOWIE co-stars left their own sweet tributes to Dave in the comments
Last month, Greg’s wife Billie shared she’d been diagnosed with Lyme disease after the symptoms left her bed-bound.
The TV personality, 35, opened up about her ‘really tough’ battle with the condition that saw her struggling through periods of agonising pain, extreme fatigue and was forced to rely on husband Greg’s help with the most basic of tasks.
She told The Mirror: ‘Some mornings I couldn’t even get out of bed. I would have to crawl, going to the toilet, I was in bits, I was hysterical, crying, because I was in so much pain. It was hard for me to sit on the toilet without Greg helping me. It was so scary.
Billie explained that it took doctors weeks to work out the cause of her illness, while she was left in agony as her immune system attacked itself.
The mother-of-two said: ‘I had so many blood tests but no one could figure it out. One doctor said she’d never seen anything like it. It was frustrating. This went on for about two months before we learnt it was Lyme’.
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection spread by ticks and can cause general flu-like symptoms, including fatigue, headache, swollen joints and a fever, which can last for a few weeks, but for reasons not yet understood, some patients suffer for years.
The former TOWIE star said medics believed she was likely bitten by an infected tick as much as three years ago, but the infection lay dormant in her system.
Despite being prescribed antibiotics and steroids, Billie said her body didn’t respond to the medication and claimed they even made her symptoms worse.
She told the publication: ‘I was so unwell. It was only after [My sister] Sam introduced me to a holistic doctor and I started taking natural medicines that I started to notice a difference and things slowly began to turn around’.
