Shine FM founder was ‘a pioneer in life and death’

Nathan, originally from Western Uganda, passed away in hospital after a long battle with cancer. The pastor’s wife Annmarie and three young daughters Grace, Hope and Joy were joined for the three-hour funeral service by friends and other family members last Wednesday.

The father-of-three had been diagnosed with cancer a third time before his death - his youngest daughter was just six months old at the time of his latest diagnosis.

Nathan, who moved to Banbridge around 16 years ago, and subsequently met and married his Limerick-born wife, worked with the Ywam religious movement and devoted his life to spreading the word of God.

It is thought he was around 57 years old at the time of his death, but as the dictator Idi Amin destroyed birth records during the period in which he ruled Uganda, that cannot be confirmed.

Although he left Uganda to undertake discipleship training, Nathan kept close links with his native country and had met and stayed with the country’s President on his travels home. The Irish Consul to Uganda attended Nathan’s funeral.

On founding Shine FM with his wife, Nathan expressed a wish for the station to grow and develop, and it is that legacy that he will be remembered for, said friend Dougie Barr.