A POPULAR darts player from Beare Green has died suddenly on his 59th birthday.
Paddock Close resident Stephen Fenn, a heating engineer, suffered heart failure while at work.
Mr Fenn's family said the man known to all as Steve – who was formerly the landlord of the Abinger Arms in Guildford Road, Abinger Hammer – was an "avid darts man" who was well known around Dorking's pubs and in the town's darts leagues. Mr Fenn's stepson, Matthew Clear, told the Advertiser his death on January 16 had come as a great shock to the whole family.
The 33-year-old said: "It came from nowhere. I got a phone call from my mother on Wednesday morning saying 'get here now, Steve has collapsed at a job in Purley'.
"I picked her up and we drove to him and paramedics were trying to resuscitate him. Just as mum arrived and held his hand he passed away, as if he was holding on, waiting for her to get there."
He added: "I had been out with him the night before because he was an avid darts player and we used to play every week without fail for about 20 years. We had a great evening and that was the last time I saw him alive."
Born in 1954, Mr Fenn married his wife Elaine 20 years ago, becoming the stepfather of her two children, Matthew and Aimee.
He attended Sondes Place School, now The Priory School, in Dorking, before completing an apprenticeship at May's Garage, which has since become Majestic Wines in High Street.
Mr Clear, who is landlord of the Old House At Home pub in West Street, Dorking, said: "He was my world and I owe him so much. The last part of my childhood was spent with him and mum running the Abinger Arms and what I learnt there has led me to become a publican myself.
"I thought of him as the fourth emergency service. If the car wouldn't start or the toilet was broken you just rang Steve and it was done, all sorted. He was very popular around town and he will be missed by a lot of people."
The family would like to invite anyone who knew Mr Fenn to attend a celebration of his life at St Mary Magdelene Church in South Holmwood on Wednesday (January 30) at 10.30am. To send flowers or make a donation, call Sherlock and Sons Funeral Directors on 01306 882266.
