Generous donors raise more than £18,000 for Sussex family after father and popular Quantum Leap podcaster, 43, dies on Christmas Day

Matt Dale, 43, passed away on Monday, December 25, 2023, after being found unresponsive on Christmas Eve following a suspected cardiac arrest.

A GoFundMe page was set up by Ian Holmes from Crowborough, the brother of Matt’s partner Sharon Holmes, to support her and her young son. People can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/8fxpz9-matt-dale.

Sharon said: “I’m just blown away by how kind and generous everyone has been and I feel that it’s a testament to how much people thought of Matt.”

Sharon said Matt was ‘kind, caring, patient’ and called him ‘the best person I knew’.

She said: “He was always positive, finding the best in everything. He wanted to always look after me and our son. They shared a love of maths and numbers and Matt loved telling him silly stories.”

Sharon added: “I can sometimes feel anxious about things and Matt would always be there to help me calm down, and make me feel better about things. He had a great sense of humour and enjoyed laughing with people.”

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She also said Matt was a self-professed ‘geek’ with a passion for sci-fi shows like Doctor Who, Star Trek and Quantum Leap. She said he was a co-host on The Quantum Leap Podcast and loved interviewing people involved with the show, and writing books about it.

Sharon said she is sad Matt will not be able to play with the games and toys he helped choose for his son as Christmas presents. She added that Matt was very close to her immediate family too who are ‘devastated’.

Sharon said the donations will ‘help immensely’, adding: “I know that Matt would have been so humbled by the love and support received as I don’t think he was quite aware of how many lives he had touched.”

Sharon’s brother Ian, 43, said: “The amount raised is beyond what I could have hoped for my sister and nephew, though given the sincerity and sheer number of messages from all over the world, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.”

Ian said Matt was ‘a wonderful partner and father’ and ‘hard working, with numerous projects constantly on the go’.

He said: “He was ever so patient and giving with his time and his knowledge, which covered a lot. I don’t think I ever knew him to say he didn’t have time if you went to him for help, and even if he didn’t know the answer, he’d do a bit of research to help you get there. He was always so kind to our mum as well, helping her with her phone or tablet or even helping to organise her email.”

Ian added: “Many people have said in their tributes that the world would be a better place if we were all a little more like Matt.”

Sharon added: “With Matt’s mum’s blessing, I can say that Matt was a loving, caring son. While we didn’t see his mum (Jan) often due to distance, they kept in touch all the time and his mum was so very proud of the man and father he had become. Matt owes his love of all things sci-fi to his mum.”