THE wife of well-known footballer Chris Thompson has remembered her husband as a loyal man who lived for his family and friends.
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Thompson, 31, died in Royal North Shore Hospital on Friday night after succumbing to severe injuries suffered in a single vehicle accident near Geurie in late August.
He leaves behind countless friends as well as a family consisting of wife Chrystal, children Alaqua (5), Mataeo (3) and Chandon (22 months), mother Lyn (also known as Young'in), father Allan Fletcher, older brother Scott, twin brother Nathan and younger siblings Kyle, Brad and Sharria.
Yesterday Chrystal Thompson, who spent five weeks by her husband's side after the accident, said she is thankful for the support the family has received during their ordeal.
"Chris lived for his kids. Family was everything to him, and we've had so much support during all of this that he would have been happy to know his kids were getting looked after," she said.
"I was with him down in Sydney for 36 days but we chose for the kids to not see Chris. He looked like he was sleeping but we didn't want their last vision of him being in a hospital bed with tubes and everything so we kept them trying to live as normal a life as possible while everything was going on.
"The support we've had from all across Group 11 football and the whole community has been really overwhelming but Chris had an infectious personality and I know that if it was someone else in this situation he would chip in to help their family and make sure things were okay for their kids."
With three children aged under five, Chrystal knows questions will inevitably come from the two boys and girl that have sadly been left without a father.
But she is adamant he will never be forgotten.
"We'll keep talking about Chris to the kids, and we've told them that he is a star in the sky. We've been honest and they know daddy had an accident and the doctors couldn't fix him," she said.
"The hard part is when they ask if we can get a rocket and go to the stars to get him, or ask if he has a phone up there so we can call him.
"At the moment they're probably too young to fully realise what has happened but we keep re-assuring them that even though daddy isn't here any more he loves them and will look after them.
"All Chris ever wanted was for his kids to be educated and Alaqua starts school at one of the Catholic schools next year. That will be a tough day but he would be so proud."
Due to the long weekend and the need for a report to be prepared for the coroner, a date for Mr Thompson's funeral has not been confirmed as yet.
"It will be a celebration of Chris' life. He fit a lot into his 31 years and knew a lot of people. Once the date and time is known we will let people know," Chrystal said.
