TRIBUTES have been paid to a business owner who worked in Malton for 28 years.

Alan Moran, who ran Malton Shoe Repair & Key Centre, off Castlegate, died suddenly on January 5.

Mr Moran, who was 62, had been planning to move to Spain with his partner Maggie in the next few weeks.

His daughter Laura said: “Dad was born in Leeds and he was one of 11 children so a big family.

“After passing his 11-plus he went to St Michael’s College in Leeds.

“He left school at 16 and got a job working with his brother-in-law doing shoe repairs, which is how he first got into the business.

“He married my mum when they were both 18 and they had me and then my sister Helen.

“In 1992 they made the decision to move to Malton where dad chose to set up his own business, he had always worked for somebody else while living in Leeds.”

Laura said initially he had rented a unit in the Lanes, but after a few years he made the move down to the shop opposite Morrisons supermarket.

“My mum passed away five and a half years ago and he later met his current partner Maggie, who really made him happy again,” she said.

“He always loved to travel and over the last few years had regularly been visiting his friends in Spain.

“Last year he made the decision to sell his house and business and make a permanent move over to Formentera del Segura in Spain with Maggie.

“Sadly he never actually made it there. He got so close, the house was sold, just some paperwork to complete and he had organised someone to take over the business.”

Laura added: “We will remember him for his sense of humour, he was the kind of person who could find a joke in anything.

“He enjoyed having a beer with his friends in The Union Inn and most of all, he was a family man, he loved Maggie, his two daughters and his three grandchildren Millie, Reece and Lexi.”

Mr Moran’s funeral service will be held at the East Riding Crematorium, Oxton on Thursday, January 23, at 1.30pm, followed by a wake at The Union Inn, Commercial Street, Norton.