A devoted local theatre actor described as the 'heart and soul' of his community has tragically died while snorkelling while on holiday.
Andrew Evans, 60, was taking part in an organised group trip from P&O's Britannia cruise ship in the in the Caribbean when he sadly lost his life.
The incident at Peninsular Cove, South East Peninsular in St Kitts on Monday, March 27 saw the dad-of-two and grandad-of-one pulled out of the water before another tourist tried unsuccessfully to revive him.
He was pronounced dead by the District Medical Officer, and it was later found that he died of a cardiac arrest.
A popular figure in his hometown of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, Mr Evans worked for the local authority in IT and technical support for several decades, and became well-known for his work with the town's local theatre groups, including The Academy Theatre Group and Llanelli Little Theatre.
Married to wife Marie, he was introduced to amateur dramatics through his long-time friend and council colleague Ann Benjamin, who he went on to perform alongside in countless shows.
Mrs Benjamin, who is godmother to one of his children, told Wales Online: "We first met when we were working at Dyfed County Council, I was performing in Annie, and we needed backstage crew so I managed to persuade him to join us.
"He decided afterwards that he'd quite like to do stuff on stage as well as doing stuff backstage, so that's how he started doing both, that was his introduction.
"He was the sort of person where, if you asked him to do something, he would do it.
"He was one of the stalwarts of The Academy, he was there, he would help out, and be involved in doing everything - running around organising this, organising that.
"He played many parts in the shows - he liked playing the panto animal, he liked the interaction with everyone, that's what he liked - he had a lot of fun. He gave most things a go.
"You couldn't ask for a better friend, he was there if you needed him, you didn't have to ask twice. That was at work, at home, in the theatre, anything to do in your life.
"Sometimes he would say yes to doing things, and you'd think, 'Andrew, you haven't got time to do this', but he would always find time, and that was the amazing thing about him."
She added that he was a "gentleman" who was "well loved by so many people" and "so thoughtful to everyone around him".
Another of his close friends David Hurford recalled first meeting him at the old Theatr Elli while he performed a technical role backstage.
He said: "We struck up an immediate friendship, talking about computers and sharing a common interest in technology. Our friendship flourished and we became more social friends. He was much loved by so many different people.
"He was a wonderful family man and a doting granddad, and he loved being a granddad. He was always telling me and other people what it was like and all kinds of little stories."
Mr Evans's work as vice chairman of Llanelli Community Partnership over the past decade, a local organisation which brings various groups and individuals together to lead community-led action, was also remembered by others.
Chairman of the partnership, Paolo Piana said: "He was a huge servant to the community in Llanelli for many, many years. He will be a huge loss to everybody who knew him and was universally loved by everybody, a person who was always there to offer support anyone who needed it.
"He was always friendly, always welcoming, a friend to everybody. He was genuinely one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and a very modest man. On a personal note, it's a really, really sad loss of a friend, he's irreplaceable.
"He was literally the heart and soul of the community."
Mr Evans's funeral takes place on Thursday, May 4 at 1.30pm at Bethel Chapel followed by internment at Llanelli and District Cemetery.
