FAMILY, friends and colleagues gathered for the funeral of Michael “Micky” Hargraves who died aged 61 at the end of November.

As a senior driver for the Islington Tribune and Camden New Journal, Micky (pictured) was one of those people it feels we simply could not do without, getting the paper into the hands of the readers despite being ill for the past year.

He never missed a shift, working just two days before he died. His daughter, Cindy Sheppard, speaking at the Islington Crematorium last Thursday, said: “I will miss our weekly catch-ups and me nagging him to go out and socialise.

“I also have lots of happy memories of time spent with my Dad, sitting in the car with him and him trying to tell me that I was out of tune, or bickering about the correct song lyrics.

“Dad loved all of his children and he showed it to us in different ways. He loved his grandchildren and I know they miss him deeply and think of him fondly. They say you can’t choose your family, but my Dad did.”

“I want to say a special thank you to the Ryan family. They have been there for my Dad since he was a child, steering and guiding him through life.

“They were both his parents and his siblings and they are our family.”

Micky had grown up in Fairfield in Arlington Road, Camden Town. His father, Terry, had long known former Tribune editor Eric Gordon.

He started in distribution in 1995, helping first in paper rounds. He later became a driver, arriving at the printers in the early hours every Friday to collect copies of the Tribune and delivering them to dispensers, care homes, and going door to door across the borough.