Adam Bourke (2 Apr 1981 - 29 Jan 2019)

In loving memory of Adam Mathew Bourke who sadly passed away on 29th January 2019 aged 37 years.

Adam was born on 2nd April 1981 in Lincoln County Hospital. He developed normally for some time and then began to look very unwell. After a great deal of difficulty in finding someone who would listen, his parents finally got him diagnosed with a brain tumour.
He was treated urgently at Sheffield Children's Hospital and the tumour was removed at the Hallamshire Hospital when he was a year old. Despite the removal of the tumour he was very poorly and his parents were told to prepare themselves for the fact that he might not make it through the night.
Eventually he did improve, after six further operations in three months and he was discharged from hospital. He had to be taught to walk and talk as he got a little older and with the help of special little blue boots, a physiotherapist and a speech therapist he did learn these important skills.
He developed epilepsy as a result of the brain surgery and had learning difficulties which required him to attend special schools. He was taught to read and write at Brigg County Primary at the age of 6 and developed excellent spelling skills throughout his time at school! Maths was more of a challenge, but his spelling was fantastic!
He developed a lifelong love of Lincoln City Football Club when his dad was the team's coach driver and Adam would travel with the team to local away games!
He has been a season ticket holder for more than 15 years and with very few exceptions has attended every home game they've played! He didn't even want to go on holiday if it meant missing a game!
Another great love was his dogs. He had a gorgeous mongrel dog called Lady who he idolised during his teenage years. He had her when he began his running career, starting to go running with a friend and neighbour Dave Martin.
The weekly jogs turned into daily six mile runs with the dog. When Adam got back from his run he would have to be reassured that he'd definitely gone for a whole six miles, because if it wasn't he was going to do the run again to make it six miles! Occasionally he would ask if he could go again for a second time and as soon as he got outside of the village, on the quiet country lanes he would let the dog off the lead and she would promptly run home!
The love of running took him as far as the Special Olympics, in which he represented the East Midlands on several occasions, in such diverse locations as Portsmouth and Glasgow, winning the Gold medal for 800m on two separate occasions as well as Silver and Bronze. He also ran in many 10k races and his medal collection is incredible! He was a member of Lincoln Wellington Running Club for about 10 years.
A bad fall on Lindum Hill resulted in him dislodging a disc in his neck, which pressed on his spinal cord. For five months he walked like a drunk and doctors were baffled, looking at his knees and brain, but not his neck until much later. He had to have an operation on his neck in 2013, which gave him some mobility back and enabled him to walk without support, although it was a little impaired and put an end to his running career.
By this point Adam had a dog of his own, a Romanian rescue dog called Poppy. Despite the fact that he couldn't run he walked Poppy twice a day, every single day at nine o'clock and one o'clock on the dot!
Another great love was Lincs FM. Adam was definitely their most devoted listener! He listened all day, every day and phoned in for every competition and every request show! In fact, he wouldn't leave the house until they had answered his request call. He wasn't bothered if they played any of the songs he asked for - he would leave the house as soon as they'd answer his call and not even listen any more! Every year Adam would attend the Lincolnshire Show with his carer where all he would do, for the entire day, is stand outside the Lincs FM tent! On one memorable occasion he was allowed to read the news at the Lincolnshire Show and his impersonation of Sean Dunderdale reading the news was heard frequently by friends and family.
Adam was a great entertainer. He loved to sing and recorded several songs at Tabby Road Studios. He also sang at every family occasion, whether he could get his hands on a microphone or not! He was a larger-than-life character who brought a great deal of joy into peoples' lives. Once met, never forgotten was something which was said about Adam by everyone who met him!

Adam died in his sleep on 29th January and will be very sadly missed by everyone who knew him.