Family and friends pay tribute to Daniel Frost (From York Press)

Tributes paid to Daniel Frost, from Malton, who died in India

9:33am Saturday 8th December 2012 in Ryedale news By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

FAMILY and friends of a Malton man who died suddenly while travelling in India have paid moving tributes to an “absolute gentleman” at his funeral.

St Michael’s Church in Malton’s Market Square was packed yesterday as people gathered to pay their last respects to former York Minster stonemason, Daniel Frost, 27.

Close friend Lorilee Wood, 26, said after the service: “He was my best friend and my little girl’s godfather. I just have so many memories.

“He was kind, loving, thoughtful and trustworthy and I just miss him so much.

“He gave me his Saint Christopher before he went travelling and I will keep it forever.”

Another mourner, Lizzie Garthwaite, 26, said: “I’m best friends with Daniel’s little sister and I have known him since I was six.

“He was an absolute gentleman and I’m not surprised by the size of the turnout today. He was well respected by everyone.”

She described Daniel as always being a “solid rock in the background.”

Simon King, 27, an old friend of Daniel’s since the pair went to Malton School together, said describing him simply as a lovely bloke “doesn’t do him justice”.

“He was a massive figure,” Simon said. “It’s not just a terrible loss to his family and friends but everyone who knew him. It’s a sad day.”

Daniel died suddenly in his hotel room in Calcutta on November 9. He had just arrived in the city after a diving trip to the Andaman Islands and had been due to travel on to work in Australia and New Zealand at the end of the month. Known to his friends as Frosty, he attended York College and undertook a four-year apprenticeship at York Minster Stoneyard, where he became a skilled stonemason.