The obituary notice of Jamie Daniel SPENCE

For Jamie (part 3)
Because Jamie travelled so lightly through life, he left pieces of himself everywhere he went. In his friends. In his family. In the people he encouraged, welcomed, made laugh, and made feel seen.
He arrived home the moment everyone began sharing his stories.
I will always be grateful for being pulled into Jamie’s world, and I will always be heartbroken that he is no longer with us.

For Jamie (part 2)
Jamie lived more in 28 years than many people do in eighty because he was never afraid to go all-in on life.
He played every hand with pride and passion whether it was poker, cricket, travelling, friendship, or love. He carried his loyalty everywhere with him, literally tattooed on his skin through the club and the people he cared about. He was a vegan who cooked with kindness, a champion who won with a cheeky grin, and a dreamer who climbed mountains just to feel the freedom of standing above the world.
He lived “all-in.” Not cautiously. Not halfway.
And maybe that’s why losing him feels impossible to accept.
He was just two days away from coming home. We were all waiting excited, impatient, full of love ready to hear the next chapter of his adventures, the stories he’d bring back, the laughter he’d walk through the door with.
That homecoming never happened, but in so many ways, he was already on his way back to all of us.
He is in the wind through Dalby Forest.
He is in the sound of poker chips clicking across the table.
He is in every cricket match played in his honour.
He is in every story repeated through laughter and tears.
And he is in every unrelenting smile that breaks through grief when people remember the way he made them feel.
Jamie’s Soul is continuing its adventures now across Mother Earth, travelling on with the love we carry for him, and the love he left behind in every life he touched.
Free spirits like Jamie leave trails behind them.
You see it in the Hull Strikers playing on with his spirit on the field. You see it in Jon standing quietly at the boundary watching on. You see it in the room his mum and dad finished with the wooden map of New Zealand a reminder that although his journey ended there, his story didn’t.
Because Jamie travelled so lightly through life, he left pieces of himself everywhere he went. In his friends. In his family. In the people he encouraged, welcomed, made laugh, and made feel seen.

For Jamie
Jamie was one of those rare people who seemed born with a nomadic soul. He didn’t need a plan, a safety net, or certainty about tomorrow. He just needed a bike, a mountain, a road ahead, and the freedom to chase whatever made him feel alive. From the roads of Europe to the peaks of New Zealand, Jamie moved through the world with a “no worries” confidence most of us only dream of having.
But for all his wandering, Jamie’s heart was always rooted in the people he loved.
He was the social glue. The one with the unrelenting smile who could walk into any room and somehow make everyone feel important. Whether he was running the poker table at the pub, convincing someone new to pull up a chair, or building friendships through cricket, Jamie didn’t just join communities he created them.
I was one of those people he told to “pull up a chair.” I’d only gone along to give my brother Jonathan a lift, and somehow I ended up joining the poker team. That was Jamie you didn’t just pass through his world, you got pulled into it, and before you knew it, you were part of something.
My daughter Akasha also met Jamie and his dad Jon, and she too ended up joining the poker team. She became friends with Jamie, enjoying nights out and time with him, along with her friend Danny. My other daughter Rowan met him occasionally as well. Jamie had a way of drawing people in and bringing friendship groups closer together he didn’t just create connections, he strengthened them into real bonds that lasted.
He had this infectious energy that made life feel lighter. He could turn a park bench into a palace and an ordinary night into a memory people would still be laughing about years later. To his friends, he was a breath of fresh air in a world that can feel far too heavy. To his dad Jon, his best mate, he was a partner in every adventure and every hand of cards. And to the people who loved him most, Jamie made the future feel exciting, hopeful, and full of fun.

One of the good ones. Lost so young, will always be remembered for his smile.

What a lovely lad you were Jamie, from junior football to senior cricket, a talented and fun loving person. Your infectious smile and love of life will be sorely missed. Thoughts and love to Jon, Angie and the rest of the family, Matt Hornshaw xx