Former estate agent and auctioneer Harry Sutcliffe has died at the age of 82.

After living with the impacts of Parkinson’s for the past two years of his life, Sutcliffe died peacefully at home last week. He is survived by his wife Christine Sutcliffe, children Darren and Lisa, step-daughter Julie, grandson Wyatt, and great-granddaughter Katherine.

“He was the nicest man anybody could wish to meet,” said Christine. “He was a family man and he absolutely loved his job. He was a funny man as well and we had many an evening out with friends where he’d tell many a tale. He always turned everything into a laugh and, going to bed at night, he always had to watch something funny on television so he could go to bed happy.”

Born and bred in Blackpool, Sutcliffe was a prolific sportsman as a youngster, gaining a reputation as a stellar amateur footballer alongside his brother David and even attending trials with Aston Villa in the 1950s. In the late 1960s, he started his career as an estate agent, working with Oystons and quickly rising through the ranks.

Eventually, he moved into training, tutoring countless other budding estate agents at Oystons during a 22-year stint in management during which he earned a reputation for kindness and an unflinching willingness to help anyone, regardless of whether they were competitors or not. He also met Christine whilst working at Oystons.

“My boss said ‘this is Mr Sutcliffe’ and I turned around to shake his hand and I just fell in love with him,” said Christine, then a typist in the legal department, of the first time she met Sutcliffe . “We moved in together in 1990 and got married in 2011 – Harry took a long time to make decisions!

“We didn’t tell anybody about the wedding either, we just had our two friends as witnesses and swore them to secrecy before going off to Blackpool Registry Office,” added Christine. “We took the children out for a meal and put photographs of us getting married under their plates.”

Sutcliffe left Oystons to set up his own estate agency and auctioneering business, Harry Sutcliffe Limited, in 1992 alongside his eventual-wife and business partner Christine, going on to sell houses all across the North West, from the Fylde Coast to Chorley. He retired in 2007 after more than four decades in the industry and having valued at least 20,000 properties by his own estimations.

So popular was he that he was named Personality of the Year at the Blackpool Gazette’s Homes Alternative Property Awards 2002 after receiving a unanimity of votes from his fellow estate agents.

“You couldn’t walk down the street without someone stopping and saying ‘hello, Harry’,” said Christine. “It’s wonderful to receive so many kind words from former clients, it’s really keeping me going. He was the best dad and granddad anybody could have.”

Harry Sutcliffe’s funeral is to be held at Carleton Crematorium on Thursday 22nd June at 10.00 am. No flowers by request, instead please send any donations to either the British Heart Foundation or Parkinson’s UK.