A wonderful human being – Tributes paid to Kevin Campbell at memorial service

Former Everton and Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell’s life was celebrated at a memorial service next to Goodison Park on Wednesday.

The popular frontman turned media figure died at the age of 54 in June, with an inquest hearing that he died from multi-organ failure as a result of a heart infection.

Campbell’s death was met by an outpouring of love from the football community, with a number of former team-mates attending his funeral in London last month.

Everton organised a memorial service on Wednesday to celebrate his life at St Luke’s Church, which sits beside Goodison Park.

Campbell’s son Tyrese, who plays for Sheffield United, and former wife Faye were among those in attendance, along with the likes of former Everton players Graham Stuart, Ian Snodin and Francis Jeffers.

Everton great Peter Reid was another at the ceremony and said: “He was a wonderful, wonderful human being.

“He had a smile that just lit up everywhere and that’s Kevin Campbell.

“I mean besides being brilliant for Everton, and obviously the Arsenal, Forest, West Brom, he was just a great geezer.

“Honest to God, he was one of the nicest fellas you could ever meet and I was proud to have some time with him and call him a friend.”

Former Everton team-mate David Unsworth echoed those sentiments after a moving ceremony.

“That was a fantastic, an amazing service,” he said. “A fitting ending there when ‘Z-Cars’ came out. That was a tough moment, but it was a fabulous service for a fabulous man.

“An amazing character. Nothing to do with his football, he was a legend of this football club. Make no mistake about it.

“He was just a great guy. A lot of people say that these days, you know, ‘He’s a great man, a great guy’.

“Kevin Campbell was a great man and we’ll all miss him very much.”