Sam Alexander passed away aged 32 on the 11th March 2025. His final days were peaceful, painless and surrounded by his family and friends who loved and will continue to love him dearly.

Sam was born with Cystic Fibrosis but never let it stop him from living his life to the full. Following a successful double lung transplant in February 2020 he rebuilt his life. He enrolled on a Sports Journalism degree at Teeside University which he greatly enjoyed, he travelled extensively to places such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and also went inter-railing to Germany, Poland, Romania, Hungary and Turkey. He filled his life with friends and social events and said yes everything he possibly could. Sam was involved in local sports teams including Barnard Castle Cricket Club and Barnard Castle Football Club. For the football club, he successfully raised funds to improve their facilities and he loved going to watch all the crickets matches. Alongside all of this, he started volunteering at his local paper the Teesdale Mercury which resulted in a paid position. He started with the sports results and moved into general articles and photography.

In Sam’s own words, I’ve had a great run bearing in mind how ill I was prior to my transplant and got 5 years which I never really expected. What’s happening now is incredibly sad but I have done everything and achieved everything I wanted to. Sometimes life just isn’t fair but no point dwelling on it.

It was Sam’s wishes that instead of flowers he would like to hold a collection for the Cystic Fibrosis trust. CF is a genetic condition which causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system. It affects more than 11,000 people in the UK. CF comes with challenges, affecting our physical health, mental wellbeing and how we choose to live our lives. Cystic Fibrosis Trust is the charity uniting people to stop Cystic Fibrosis.