The founders of a gin distillery have paid tribute to the "face" of their business after his sudden death at a Christmas fair at the age of 50.
Timothy Hoelzer has been described as someone who was always full of life, who would do anything for anyone and as the "backbone" of Home Farm Gin in Hethersett.
Paul Dunnett, 52, who is a partner in the company and Tim’s life partner, said: “I got to spend 25 years with Tim, nothing was ever too much trouble for him.
“On the day it happened, he was on a day off from his main job but was helping us out, because that is the kind of person he was, an absolutely incredible guy who was absolutely outstanding at what he did.
"Many customers bought because they just couldn’t help but buy from him, he was that good.”
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Tim - who was a business development manager for an aluminium firm - left Home Farm at 6am on Friday, November 17 to sell the company's gin at Sandringham Christmas Fair, an event that Tim loved.
Paul said: “He was busy with customers and happy doing what he loved doing.
“Then at 2.12pm he was standing chatting with customers and suddenly collapsed on the floor, no warning at all, just went down like a tonne of bricks.”
Emergency services were called at 2.19pm and at 2.58pm Tim was pronounced dead.
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Paul continued: “He was just 50 years old, he had no pre-existing medical issues and hadn’t needed to visit the GP in ages, arguably he was in perfect health.”
Tim had experienced an aortic dissection, when the outer layer of the aorta - the largest artery in the body, which carries blood from the heart - rips allowing blood to escape.
Paul said: “It had been running fine for 50 years and then on that day, it just ruptured.
“The only positive I can take from it is that he wouldn’t have known, he wasn’t scared or in any pain.
“He was just here, and then he was gone, he was surrounded by other traders that know and love him – granted it would have been a big shock for the people trying to purchase gin.”
Paul said for the first week after Tim’s death he really struggled.
He had experienced death, but nothing could have prepared him for the death of someone he viewed as his soulmate.
He said: “I just don’t have the words to explain what it felt like to know he was gone.”
But now Paul is focussing on making Tim proud.
It is the busiest time of the year for Home Farm Gin, so fuelled by people’s memories and well wishes Paul has thrown himself into work.
He said: “It happened so suddenly I feel like I am in denial, but following the funeral I expect it will be hard.”
Paul said he has gone into survival mode, as much for himself as for Nev Leverett, the firm's other partner, who has been struggling with Tim’s death.
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Paul said: “Tim was like a father figure to Nev – we always thought of him as the son we could never have.
“So it’s important to me that we do our best for Tim.”
Paul is looking back at lots of memories, including deciding to purchase their home of 16 years before they had even seen the house.
He recalled: “We pulled into the driveway of Home Farm and I knew that we were going to live there.
“And I will stay here forever because he is here, this is his home.
“I wish I could be half the person he was, he was so charismatic, so kind and so special.
“He was old school, and I feel privileged to have spent the last 25 years with him, he will be sorely missed, but he has given me so much happiness to cherish.”
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