Paul Kinloch and Family

We are friends of Paul Kinloch, united in our quest to help his beloved family following his unexpected passing on 26th April 2024.

For the last 3 years, Paul had lived stoically with renal failure and continued to work at Penumbra, an organisation he loved until a month before his death. His work with people and the love of his family kept him going during this time.

In April 2024, Paul’s health deteriorated significantly, he was in a lot of pain and attributed this to sciatica and was having complications with dialysis treatment. He had lost weight, needed support to walk and had to take time off work.

At this time, Paul received the uplifting news that there was a potential match for a kidney transplant and the whole family, daughter Sophie, son Spencer and his loving partner Theresa felt hopeful that this would go ahead and give Paul a new lease of life and that he would be able to enjoy life again and return to camping, getting out in nature on his motorbike, walking, taking photos, Piping and of course watching his beloved Dundee United. With this in mind the family were hoping that they could plan celebrations for Paul's 60th next year.

Paul was a steadfast, principled and caring man, who dedicated his life to helping others. For many years he worked with people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness and developed and coordinated services to meet their needs for a charity in Perth. Over the last 13 years, Paul has worked with Penumbra in the field of mental health recovery and supported over 600 people in this time.

Everyone that Paul worked with mattered to him, he was genuinely interested in people and hearing their stories and how he could support them to improve the quality of their lives. Recovery was important to Paul, that people have the ability to improve their mental health and wellbeing with non-medical interventions. He believed in the goodness of people. The fact that Paul had continued to go into work day after day whilst in obvious discomfort is testament to his character and how much he valued helping others.

Tragically, on the same week that Paul had found out he had a potential match for a kidney, he was told that he had Cancer which was aggressive. Paul was told he had a matter of weeks to a month to live. This was devastating news. Bereft at this news, his family had to not only come to terms with losing Paul, but also continue to ensure his dad Alan is adequately cared for. He too had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, and Theresa and Paul had moved him closer to their home so they could provide ongoing care and support. Alan has had to face the unthinkable reality of losing his son, in the face of his own battle with cancer.

In the midst of processing this incomprehensible news, Paul and Theresa decided to formalise their 27 year relationship by getting married at home, with Sophie and Spencer by their sides. Paul passed away peacefully two days later. It had been 8 days from his cancer diagnosis to his passing.

The family is understandably shocked by this loss and unfortunately not prepared for all that is happening at this time. Losing a loved one is always difficult, but coping with a sudden loss adds a different element to the grieving process. We are hoping that the people of Dundee and beyond will help us to rally around the family at this difficult time. Paul invested so much of himself in others, he would hope that we can now look after those he loved most.

His legacy of recovery in Dundee will live on.