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Family pay tirbute to stab victim Ian Rowe
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Family pays tribute to ex-St Crispin’s pupil Ian Rowe

By Alice Murphy
March 18, 2010

The family of a Wokingham man found dead with multiple stab wounds at home have paid tribute to their “happy-go-lucky” brother.

Ian Rowe, 52, was found in his house in Coventry on Thursday, February 18. He is believed to have died some time in the six days before he was discovered.

He moved away from Wokingham 20 years ago having grown up in the borough but regularly visited his nieces and nephews, Joanne, Carla, Anders, Darren, Lee, Shaun and Sarah, who still live in Wokingham and Eversley.

Mr Rowe’s funeral will be held on Friday at Canley Crematorium in Coventry. He leaves behind a brother, Christopher, and two sisters, Joyce and Cathy.

His sister Cathy Emery said: “He loved his nephews and nieces.

“He was very good-hearted and enjoyed life to the full.

“He would come back to Wokingham for weddings, Christmas and family events and everyone would be really pleased to see him.

“His family have been left stunned as to how this could happen to our little brother.”

The family initially lived in Gorrick Square and Mr Rowe went to Keep Hatch Primary School in Ashridge Road and St Crispin’s in London Road.

After joining the Royal Navy as a teenager, he then served on board the HMS Ark Royal and sailed across the North Atlantic in a yacht with four friends.

One highlight of his life was when he sang We Are Sailing aboard the ship with singer Rod Stewart. The song was the theme tune to a 70s documentary about life on board the ship.

When he left the Navy, he returned to Wokingham and lived with his mother in Sandy Lane, working for part of that time in a hardware shop in Sandhurst.

Mrs Emery said: “He did that for about a year and then my husband and I took up a pub hotel in Coventry and he worked with us for a year.”

Mr Rowe then began a job designing and building exhibition stands, a much-enjoyed role which took him across Europe.

His sister said: “We moved to Hertfordshire but he wanted to go back to Coventry and there he stayed.”

In recent years, Mr Rowe did various driving jobs.

Mrs Emery said: “He was a happy-go-lucky person who liked his pint and the pub – that was where he made many friends.

“He would always put himself out and would never ask for anything in return.

“He was a big socialiser – that is how most people will remember him. He liked sitting down and talking about his Navy days.”

In his spare time, Mr Rowe was skilled at drawing and also enjoyed doing crosswords.

Mrs Emery said the family has been stunned by his death.

She said: “We couldn’t believe it. It was just such a shock.

“Our hearts are broken.”

Friday’s funeral takes place four weeks to the day after the family discovered he had died.