The founder of a Norwich Star Wars club who died from cancer almost three years ago has had some of his ashes scattered at a convention celebrating the intergalactic space saga in the USA.
Richard Walker, who founded the Norwich Star Wars Club UK in 1999, lost his battle with prostate cancer in September 2019 aged 69.
It meant he was too ill to be able to accompany club members to Star Wars Celebration Chicago held earlier that year.
Mr Walker’s son-in-law, Lee Nelson, knew how much his father-in-law had wanted to go a convention in the US one last time and so vowed to take his ashes with him to this year's event at Anaheim, near California.
Mr Nelson, who accompanied other club members to the event in May, said: "We took Richard's ashes out there which we said we were going to do.
"Some of his ashes were scattered at Galaxy's Edge (the Star Wars resort) in the Disneyland resort and then we scattered some around Anaheim, where the convention was held.
"Before we did that he was on me, in a pouch.
"I said that if he was with me, whatever I saw he was with me, and we saw it.
"That's how I looked at it when that was all done."
The 45-year-old said after having carried Mr Walker's ashes around the convention with him for a few days he and other club members, including David Pye and John Peruzzi, scattered some of the ashes near the centre.
He said: "We sat there and reflected and told stories about Richard.
"It was really poignant.
"We all came back a little richer for doing it - it was quite special."
Mr Walker was well known to many Star Wars fans across the globe and Mr Nelson said that on their trip "everywhere we went people were saying 'sorry for your loss'.
As well as scattering Mr Walker's ashes, Mr Nelson said they were also able to sell around 40 to 50 memorial club patches while they were out there.
It means the club are "nearly there" in terms of raising £1,000 for Priscilla Bacon Lodge, a Norfolk hospice which is hoping to open a 24-bed palliative care unit next to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
Visit www.norwichstarwarsclub.com for more information on the club.
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