'Wonderful' grandfather, 60, died while snorkelling on family cruise in Caribbean

Andrew Evans, 60, from Llanelli in Wales, died on a snorkelling trip to St Kitts at the end of March.

Ross McGuinness
Updated ·3-min read
Andrew Evans (Reach)
Andrew Evans died during a snorkelling trip on a Caribbean cruise. (Reach)

Tributes have been paid to a grandfather who died while snorkelling on a Caribbean cruise with his family.

Andrew Evans, 60, was on a family cruise holiday on board P&O's Britannia ship.

The father-of-two and grandfather-of-one from Llanelli in Wales was part of a group that went snorkelling in St Kitts.

He lost consciousness during the snorkelling trip to Peninsular Cove on 27 March and was brought out of the water.

Although another tourist tried to revive him, he was later pronounced dead. It was later found that he died of cardiac arrest.

Evans had worked in IT and tech support for Dyfed County Council, which became Carmarthenshire Council in 1996.

Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a doting family man, community champion and theatre actor who tragically died whilst snorkelling on a family holiday in the Caribbean. Dad-of-two and grandad-of-one Andrew Evans was in St Kitts, onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship. From Llanelli, Mr Evans was part of a group that went on a snorkelling trip at Peninsular Cove, South East Peninsular on Monday, March 27 when the tragic incident happened. He was brought out of the water and another tourist tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer. Mr Evans was 60, a month away from his 61st birthday. It was later found that he died of a cardiac arrest. Mr Evans was well-known in the Llanelli community through his long-standing work for first Dyfed County Council, which became Carmarthenshire Council in 1996 in IT and technical support. But he also embraced life in the community, and was part of the local theatre groups for decades, including The Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre. Pictured: Mr Evans with his wife Marie Credit: Ann Benjamin/Media Wales
Andrew Evans pictured with his wife Marie. (Reach)

He was also a member of local theatre groups for decades, including the Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre.

Friend and council colleague Ann Benjamin, who performed with Evans in a number of theatre shows and is godmother to one of his children, said: "He was the sort of person where, if you asked him to do something, he would do it.

"He played many parts in the shows - he liked playing the panto animal, he liked the interaction with everyone, that's what he liked - he had a lot of fun. He gave most things a go.

"You couldn't ask for a better friend, he was there if you needed him, you didn't have to ask twice. That was at work, at home, in the theatre, anything to do in your life.

Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a doting family man, community champion and theatre actor who tragically died whilst snorkelling on a family holiday in the Caribbean. Dad-of-two and grandad-of-one Andrew Evans was in St Kitts, onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship. From Llanelli, Mr Evans was part of a group that went on a snorkelling trip at Peninsular Cove, South East Peninsular on Monday, March 27 when the tragic incident happened. He was brought out of the water and another tourist tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer. Mr Evans was 60, a month away from his 61st birthday. It was later found that he died of a cardiac arrest. Mr Evans was well-known in the Llanelli community through his long-standing work for first Dyfed County Council, which became Carmarthenshire Council in 1996 in IT and technical support. But he also embraced life in the community, and was part of the local theatre groups for decades, including The Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre. Pictured: Andrew Ryder, Craig Stock, Marc Nicholls and Mr Evans Credit: Ann Benjamin/Media Wales
Andrew Evans, right, was part of a number of theatre productions in Llanelli, Wales. (Reach)

"Sometimes he would say yes to doing things, and you'd think, 'Andrew, you haven't got time to do this', but he would always find time, and that was the amazing thing about him.

"He was well loved by so many people. He was a gentleman, and so thoughtful to everyone around him."

Friend David Hurford said: "He was much loved by so many different people. He was a wonderful family man and a doting grandad, and he loved being a grandad.

"He was very community minded and always trying to do something to help people in the community.

"Everybody knew him, he was a friendly, reliable and honest caring person. He was generous with his time and wouldn't look at his watch."

Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a doting family man, community champion and theatre actor who tragically died whilst snorkelling on a family holiday in the Caribbean. Dad-of-two and grandad-of-one Andrew Evans was in St Kitts, onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship. From Llanelli, Mr Evans was part of a group that went on a snorkelling trip at Peninsular Cove, South East Peninsular on Monday, March 27 when the tragic incident happened. He was brought out of the water and another tourist tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer. Mr Evans was 60, a month away from his 61st birthday. It was later found that he died of a cardiac arrest. Mr Evans was well-known in the Llanelli community through his long-standing work for first Dyfed County Council, which became Carmarthenshire Council in 1996 in IT and technical support. But he also embraced life in the community, and was part of the local theatre groups for decades, including The Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre. Family of Andrew Evans/Media Wales
Tributes have been paid to grandfather Andrew Evans, who died while snorkelling in St Kitts. (Reach)
Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a doting family man, community champion and theatre actor who tragically died whilst snorkelling on a family holiday in the Caribbean. Dad-of-two and grandad-of-one Andrew Evans was in St Kitts, onboard P&O's Britannia cruise ship. From Llanelli, Mr Evans was part of a group that went on a snorkelling trip at Peninsular Cove, South East Peninsular on Monday, March 27 when the tragic incident happened. He was brought out of the water and another tourist tried to revive him, but was unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer. Mr Evans was 60, a month away from his 61st birthday. It was later found that he died of a cardiac arrest. Mr Evans was well-known in the Llanelli community through his long-standing work for first Dyfed County Council, which became Carmarthenshire Council in 1996 in IT and technical support. But he also embraced life in the community, and was part of the local theatre groups for decades, including The Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre. Andrew pictured with his wife Marie in Las Vegas. Family of Andrew Evans/Media Wales
Andrew Evans pictured with his wife Marie in Las Vegas. (Reach)

Evans was vice-chairman of the Llanelli Community Partnership since it first started a decade ago.

Its chairman, Paolo Piana, said: "He was a huge servant to the community in Llanelli for many, many years. He will be a huge loss to everybody who knew him and was universally loved by everybody, a person who was always there to offer support anyone who needed it.

"He was always friendly, always welcoming, a friend to everybody. He was genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and a very modest man. On a personal note, it's a really, really sad loss of a friend, he's irreplaceable. He was literally the heart and soul of the community."

Evans's funeral will take place on Thursday.

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