A BELOVED Brit dad and pillar of his local community has tragically died just days before he was set to give his daughter away at her dream Spanish wedding.
In a heartbreaking twist of fate, Hampstead man Lance Ridden suddenly passed away from a suspected heart attack in a luxury resort in Marbella.
He had travelled to the popular Spanish holiday destination to walk his daughter Hannah, 32, down the aisle to marry her husband Jack.
In the wake of the shocking tragedy, Lance’s family rallied to ensure the celebration of love went ahead.
Hannah’s brothers walked her down the aisle, while Lance’s widow, Sue, read out the speech the loving dad had prepared for the big day.
The 66-year-old dad co-ran Vokes – a locally well-known taxi company in Medway – died on September 14.
Speaking at the family home, Sue said she had “just wanted to fly home”.
“Hannah and Jack said they would call [the wedding] off,” she said.
“We had mixed feelings, but ultimately, it’s what Lance would have wanted.
“It was brilliant, I’m so pleased it went ahead.”
Just weeks before the wedding, Sue said Lance had attended the couple’s registry office ceremony at Danson House in southeast London.
At the civil ceremony, he was able to fulfil his role as father-of-the-bride.
Colleagues, customers, friends and family have described him in sorrowful tributes on social media as “larger than life” and “one in a million”.
One person wrote: “Lance was a wonderful man, and I have so many memories of him”.
“He will be missed hugely.”
Another said: “Lance’s love and kindness will never be forgotten”.
“We’ll always treasure the memories of the good times we shared with him,” they added.
Lance and his co-owner Mark Robinson built the large taxi business across the Medway region over the past 20 years, slowly buying out six competitor firms.
They started their business journey with Newscabs in Rochester in 2004, before acquiring Windmill in Gillingham in 2011, Rainham Cabs in 2018, I-cab on Medway City Estate in 2021 and Strood Cabs in 2023.
The pair had added Computer Cabs to their portfolio just weeks before Lance passed away.
From humble beginnings, Lance’s mum Joyce got the ball rolling on the venture, starting from the spare room in their family home.
Starting with just a couple of cars to hire, the flourishing business sprouted in 1967, with Joyce and her ex-Army husband John, at the helm of Pinkies.
Lance washed the cabs as a young boy to earn his pocket money, but after leaving school, he declined his father’s guidance to become a full-time cabbie.
He began a welding apprenticeship at a Gillingham factory before working on contracts in England‘s northeast all the way to the Middle East.
He married his first wife, Amanda, and they shared their daughter Hannah together.
Lance later worked with his father as a council bailiff before his friend – Graham Vokes – announced he was stepping down from his self-named cab firm.
Lance expressed interest in the company to customer and businessman Mark Robinson, who was keen to get on board.
The Vokes main office – located on Old Road in Chatham – began with 50 drivers.
The company now has more than 200 drivers on its roster.
After Lance and Sue married in 2005, she used her skills to market the business.
Her sons Joshua, 35, and Hadley, 33, along with Hannah, letterbox-dropped leaflets promoting the business.
Sue said Mark and Lance’s partnership worked well, as Lance ran the business from his heart, while Mark was the brains behind the tech.
Sue said their life together had been “eventful and fun”.
“Lance was very sociable,” she said.
“There were so many parties here and it was often an open house.”
The couple loved to travel, going on holidays in the Caribbean, Spain and Turkey.
He was an avid lover of water sports, football and going out on his boat.
Lance was a member for many years at the old Roffen sports and social club in Rochester, where he played squash.
Lance was a pillar of his community, investing heavily into local projects, including sponsoring his sons’ football teams, Chatham Town Football Club and charities including the Rotary Club’s Santa Fun Run.
“We are a blended family and all get along very well,” Sue said.
“If anything, this has brought us closer.”
Lance’s funeral is set to take place on October 28, at Medway Crematorium.
It will be followed by a wake at the Smallholders Club in Wigmore.
Mourners are requested to wear the usual black.
The family has requested for donations to be made to Abigail’s Footsteps – a child bereavement charity – in memory of Daniel, the newborn baby Lance and Sue tragically lost in 2004.
