Harry Greaves: 'We will celebrate our wonderful son'
Shropshire backpacker Harry Greaves lived life to the full and was in his prime at the time of his tragic death in Peru, according to his family.
Heartbroken relatives want to celebrate all that was wonderful about the adventure-minded poet, who was found a at the bottom of a 40-metre drop almost a fortnight after he went missing in the Peruvian Andes.
Harry's father, Simon, a well-known Shropshire author, said the family have been overwhelmed by all the support they have received and daily visitors, masses of flowers and loving messages are helping to get them through each day.
Experienced outdoorsman Harry, from Bronygarth, near Oswestry, was last seen on April 7 when he set out on a solo mountain hike, two days before his 29th birthday.
Simon said: "We are going through all sorts of practicalities which are a kind of comfort in a way because they occupy time and also people continue to be very thoughtful and loving.
"I don't know what the final total was but at least £33,000 was raised in three days to try to find Harry, which was just unbelievable.
"We were speaking to a friend in London who said one of his colleagues had contributed, not knowing Harry, not having any connection with him – but just being moved by his plight and wanted to help."
What has become apparent to Harry's family before he died was how much poetry he was writing on a philosophical level.
"He had strong beliefs about what it was to be a man, about love, community, the environment," said Simon.
"If there were good things to come from this, it would be that those thoughts are more widely known.
"For example, one poem ends with the simple words: "A life lived in love means you cannot fail".
"We knew his love for nature and wild places and his passion for permaculture.
"He was doing yoga, meditation and martial arts – he was evolving a way of being and we are very proud of him.
"You can see from all the pictures he looks fit and strong. He was radiating.
"He was very sporty as a child and has always been athletic," said Simon.
"He'd always been strong but I think he had really found himself in the mountains and he had become the kind of man that in a sense he had wanted to be.
"My feeling is, and my wife and daughter Ellen feel slightly differently because they are so aware of his loss, that he had accomplished so much and he was in a place where he felt happy and strong.
"I think most of us couldn't ask for a lot more than that, when it comes to our time."
"Let me walk this trail with eyes wide open With the sun and wind and the rain upon my face Let me taste life and when I die Let me know that I have lived."
"One of my friends also said a wonderful phrase, 'everybody dies – but not everybody lives'," said Simon.
"There's so much that I can't regret – Harry had done an extraordinary amount in 29 years.
"I was so proud of him and I wouldn't have wanted him to have been different.
"Harry was that wonderful dynamic, complex, interesting man.
"I'm devastated but there are many, many worse ways to die.
"But if Harry would have come back down that mountain, he would have been ready to find a partner, to raise children – that's where he was at.
"He had found life.
"One of the great sadnesses for us is that not only have we lost Harry but we have lost possible future grandchildren too."
Harry's sister Ellen said her brother was a caring, compassionate and thoughtful person, and will be deeply missed by many. The family says Harry's funeral will be private.
Harry flew to Peru on February 20 and was visiting friends in Pisac, near Cusco.
His friends and family, assisted by the Lucie Blackman Trust, which supports British nationals missing or in crisis overseas, had launched a search to find him.
Harry's mother Sarah and cousin Lucy flew to Peru to help co-ordinate the search for Harry.
More than £33,000 had been raised to help find the former Rhyn Park School pupil through a crowdfunding appeal that attracted support from people across the country and beyond.
Simon said although they are still trying to determine the cost of the search operation, he believes there will be some surplus funds.
He is keen to donate to the Lucie Blackman Trust, as well as charities in or near to Pisac where Harry stayed.
The family is also hoping to use some of the funds to create a lasting way of remembering Harry by but are yet to decide what that will be.
Following the tragic news of his death, his former school St Martins School posted a photograph on its Twitter page of Harry and his friends taking part in the school's Duke of Edinburgh trek when Harry was about 15 years old.
The school described him as a "keen outdoor enthusiast".
Harry went on to study furniture making at Leeds College of Art.
He later made furniture in the Oswestry area for his own company Marcher Furniture and also Wrexham company Silverlining Furniture.
Although it had been his first trip to South America, Harry had travelled alone before.
When he was 18, he travelled to New Zealand and was there for six months.
He was planning to hike in the mountains of Kinsa Cocha when he flew to Peru.
After the news he was missing, his friends and family, assisted by the Lucie Blackman Trust, had launched a search of the area by land and helicopter in a bid to find him.
Hopes had been raised after a further sighting of Harry was reported to have been made by a local.
A tent similar to his was also found in the Kinsa Cocha area a week last Monday.
They raised the alarm when he did not return as planned.
The friends Harry had travelled to meet in Peru split into groups to join the search for him.
His body was found with the help of the professional guide.
