A 'fit and healthy' mother-of-two died after collapsing with a brain aneurysm while teaching a fitness class in the UK.
Katy Hancock was "completely and utterly devoted to her kids and husband" and was "one of the most fun people you could ever meet," her father told CambridgeshireLive.
The 32-year-old, from Witchford, Cambridgeshire, collapsed on January 25, 2023, while teaching a fitness bounce class and passed away a week later.
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The school teacher had an unexpected brain aneurysm and was rushed to Hinchingbrooke Hospital for an MRI scan, before being transferred to Addenbrookes Neuro ICU. Sadly, she died a week later, on February 1.
Katy was married to Edd Hancock and they had two children, four-year-old Dylan and two-year-old Taylor.
Her father, Chris Taylor said in the days leading up to the brain aneurysm Katy was “quite normal, she’s massively fit and healthy” but adds “she had a few headaches she was complaining about”.
Talking about his daughter Chris said: “She was hysterically funny, a brilliant mimic, she could memorise lines from a film she saw 20 years ago and just drop them out at the appropriate moment.
“Very cynical, really, really dry sense of humour. She was challenging and very strong-minded.
He continued: "[Katy] was completely and utterly devoted to her kids and to Edd and just one of the most fun people you could ever meet really."
She was “very, very active” and would go skiing, swimming, paddle boarding, sailing and cycling.
Talking about her career as a primary school teacher he said “she kind of fell into and she discovered she was actually very, very good at it”. He added: "She was incredibly committed, she had a real passion for it."
A GoFundMe page has now been set up by Chris help to provide funding for the further education of Katy’s two children Dylan and Taylor as this was something “very dear to Katy’s heart”.
Chris shares that the education of her children was “very much Katy’s passion” and she would ensure they would have “every opportunity they could”.
As well as this, the money will go towards memorial benches in a number of locations that are the family's favourites such as The Orchard and the Milton Country Park.
Talking about this Chris said: “I think it's a lovely thing for the kids, in particular, to have somewhere to go on a nice summer's day, the locations we found are just ideal, overlooking the lake and you can have a picnic and a dedicated bench there would be fantastic”.
Chris shares that since creating the gofundme page, he has reached the target three times and said they exceeded the target on day one. The total amount raised now stands at around €22,000 (£19,475). He said: “It’s overwhelming but not surprising because we’ve had so much support from a lot of things we’ve done as a family.
“But I've been a little surprised at how many people she touched professionally and socially.
“The outpouring of grief, just people wanting to do something and that was the reason for the gofundme page. We thought what else can we do, because people want to do something and this allows people to do something they want to do”.
Describing his daughter Chris adds she was a “massively strong character, the family all joke that she’s very much like me.
“She had twin sisters who are slightly older and out of the three of them Katy was always the one we had the biggest battles with and always used to argue all the time when she was young, and she would literally never let you have the last word on anything.
“She was like a dynamo. She just never stopped running around looking after the kids and doing whatever was necessary and she was just incredible.
“She was very, very strong”.
Chris also shares that Katy's lifelong friend, Tonna Eaton and her partner, James Cardwell are also in the process of setting up a charity in Katy's name, called The Katy Hancock Foundation. The pair have a small 'farm' in Buckden and have an idea to use the site as a rehabilitation centre for disadvantaged kids, families and for people recovering from injury or trauma.
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