Partner of Faith Tutton pays tribute to 'soul mate and best friend' who lost her battle with cancer

A MAN has paid tribute to his "soul mate and best friend" after she lost her battle with cancer months before they were due to marry.

Faith Tutton, 38, had been organising her wedding to James Ash in the days before she lost her seven-month battle with cancer.

She died with James, her parents and sister at her bedside in the couple's home in Pearson Park, west Hull.

Last night, more than 1,000 tributes had been posted on the couple's and family's Facebook pages.

Mr Ash, 30, said: "I have not only lost a fiancée but also my soul mate and a best friend.

"I feel blessed to say I truly found a happiness that most people search for and never find. Our dreams and wants were matched evenly and found little need for compromise."

Mr Ash planned to marry Miss Tutton, a former international taekwondo fighter, next May.

He proposed last December during a surprise trip to Morocco, organised by Miss Tutton for his birthday.

Mr Ash said: "Faith loved surprising people and making people happy. I'd always wanted to go to Marrakesh, but we had been doing up our flat. Our money was going into that.

"I ended up in Marrakesh but not the city – the restaurant in Princes Avenue. All my family and friends were there as a surprise.

"I was then given another surprise – a parcel, with lots of layers of wrapping. Each layer contained a cryptic clue.

"The first clue ended up being Lincoln, the second was Sleaford. So at midnight we drove to Lincolnshire. The last clue was Stansted Airport.

"When we got there, I looked up at the departure board and saw a flight to Marrakesh. I knew then where we were going. I actually screamed."

Mr Ash, who has his own clothing company, said he knew he had to seize the moment.

"There was this brilliant sunset," he said. "I knew there would not be a more perfect moment. I had no ring to give her. But it didn't matter.

"I asked Faith if she would marry me. She said, 'Of course I will marry you'.

"We celebrated with a bottle of bubbly. We looked high and low for a ring. We found a beautiful, 200-year-old, Moroccan ring – it was perfect."

Miss Tutton's best friend, Heather Elvidge, who introduced the couple three years ago, also paid tribute.

She said: " They were just perfect for each other. I said to him, 'I have the perfect girl for you'".

The couple met at a pub in Beverley.

Mr Ash said: "We sat talking on the sofa at a friend's party afterwards until 7am.

"I remember asking her permission to kiss her. I wanted to be polite."

Miss Tutton, who grew up in South Wales, where her parents Patricia and Garnet live, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in April.

She had a hysterectomy, followed by four cycles of chemotherapy at the Queen's Centre For Oncology and Haematology, in Cottingham.

However, the cancer had spread and Miss Tutton was told five weeks ago it was inoperable.

She died last Saturday.

Mrs Elvidge said: "Faith was so strong. She fought to the end and was positive about everything. There was never any self-pity.

"When I lived with her and another girl, she told us, 'One-in-three get cancer. I'd have it for you two'."

Family and friends plan to celebrate her life at 7pm on December 14 – her fiancé's birthday – near the Black Mill on Beverley Westwood.

Mr Ash said: "We're asking people to bring a candle. We'll then go for a drink in Beverley and celebrate her life. All are welcome".

Miss Tutton's funeral will be held at 1.45pm on Wednesday at St Paul's Church, in Newbridge, Newport.