When Jeff Heyes retired from work in December he was looking forward to time with his family, grandchildren and doing sport.

The much-loved triathlete was 58 and well know for his sporting ability. Over the years he had competed at home and abroad and also raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Jeff had worked since the age of 14, when he had a milk round, and had lots of plans for his well-earned retirement.

But tragically he died a few weeks later. Leaving his family and many friends devastated.

Jeff had enjoyed a typical day at his Workington home. He had collected his grandchildren from school and he and Margaret, his wife of 38 years, settled down with the youngsters to enjoy a film that evening.

Jeff later went to bed - but never woke up.

A post mortem has since revealed that Jeff had ischaemic heart disease. His family had no inkling of this and are keen to raise awareness of heart disease, which causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK – an average of 460 deaths each day.

"It was such a shock, totally unexpected. We don't understand how someone so fit and healthy could pass away so suddenly," said Margaret.

"We knew he had high blood pressure, he was on tablets. We were not aware he had heart diseases. He had none of the symptoms - chest pains, shortness of breath.

"We want to raise awareness of this."

Jeff was a member of the Cockermouth-based triathlon club Tri Lakeland and various gyms. 

They are all organising events in his memory.

Last year Jeff did a full Ironman triathlon, he was meant to be doing another one later this year in Portugal.

Over the years he has done countless triathlons, races and events, including the Fred Whitton bike sportive and cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats.

"You name it, he has done it," said his daughter, Natalie, who works at Sellafield. 

"He has over 50 medals," said daughter Stephanie, a nurse at the West Cumberland Hospital. Both of them took part in events with their dad over the years.

Margaret and Jeff met at school in Wigan and got together aged 14 or 15. They married and later moved to west Cumbria in 1993 with their two daughters. Jeff had various head of operations roles at Sellafield.

The couple have four grandchildren: twins Lilly and Ella, 11, Jacob, eight, and Sienna, five.

"It was all about family. He just did everything for us," said Margaret, who works for Allerdale Council.

Sport was also a big part of his life. 

"From school he was always into sport. He played rugby a long time, then played football for Sellafield and The Briery. He also played cricket and got into cycling," said Margaret.

"He's always done a lot of cycling and running.

"He was good at giving advice, he was a very good reflector and taught the girls how to be."

Funeral donations went to Blood Pressure UK and Heartbeat of Sport, a charity aimed at raising awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in sport.

The family are keen to do something in Jeff's memory - as well as raise awareness of the dangers of heart disease.

The grandchildren have signed up to do the Lakesman Unlocked bike and run event.

Natalie, Stephanie and her husband Steven will do a triathlon later this year. 

Margaret said: "I want to work with local leisure centres, charities and the tri club to try and get awareness to fit people. 

"I would like to see regular monitoring programmes in place.

"It's concerning that someone like Jeff can go to bed and not get up. You don't know what's going on in your body.

"He retired early because he felt he had done his bit. I feel he was robbed of his retirement and plans and we were robbed of him. 

"I want people to know this a massive problem which they do not know they have."

The support for Jeff has given the family a lot of comfort.

Some members of Trilakeland and Cockermouth gym Lake District Barbell recently raised more than £1,326 for Blood Pressure UK in memory of Jeff.

They did the 4x4x48 Goggins Challenge - running four miles every four hours for 48 hours.

Richard Downey, Natalie's boss at Sellafield, was part of the team and she joined them for the final four miles. The rest of the family cheered everyone on.

Workington Leisure Centre is hosting two charity events in memory of Jeff, who has been a regular for 25 years.

They are open to everyone and staff hope lots of people will have a go.

The first event is a mini-Triathlon organised in conjunction with Trilakeland, on Saturday, April 30. This event will involve a pool swim, indoor cycle and run. 

A Spinathon and Training Boot Camp, with access to multiple fitness classes, including Steps, Zumba and Fit beats circuits, will be held on Saturday, May 14.

More details on the centre's Facebook page.

Dino Pardini is an instructor at the sports centre and has known Jeff for more than 25 years.

"He was a great figurehead and loyal attender at the classes. We used to do a charity events every year and Jeff was always instrumental in them," he said.

"He was such a friendly, dedicated chap and had a strong association with the centre."
The centre hopes to raise funds to set up a free monthly professional screening service in the centre in Jeff's memory.

"He was very, very fit and we were all so shocked by this," said Dino.

"We would like to offer personal MoTs."

Trilakeland secretary Viv Winter said: "Jeff was a massive part of our club and not just because he had been the treasurer for the last five years.

"He trained hard and quietly got on with entering a significant number of events, from sprint triathlons to Ironman distances. 

"Without knowing it he was inspiring many in the club. He was part of the coaching team and attended pretty much all the sessions we held and was always very supportive and encouraging to old and new club members. 

"It is incredibly fitting that he was voted Triathlete of the Year this last season, an award that individuals are nominated for by other club members. 

"This award going forward will be known as the Jeff Heyes Award."