Tom Parker‘s wife Kelsey said her final public goodbye to her husband on Thursday, delivering an emotional eulogy at his funeral in London. The Wanted singer died last month following an 18-month battle with brain cancer. Hundreds of mourners gathered outside the church to pay their respects, with the Tom Parker funeral procession drawing fans who watched the service on big screens set up in the street.
Kelsey led the funeral cortege, which included three black horses, as the procession made its way through the streets of London. Inside the church, Tom’s bandmates from The Wanted, Jay McGuiness, Max George, Siva Kaneswaran and Nathan Sykes, served as pallbearers, carrying his coffin in.
During her eulogy, Kelsey told the crowd she would raise the couple’s two children with the values Tom held dear. She broke down in tears while reflecting on their relationship, saying that although she and Tom were together for 13 years, it felt as if they had lived 1,000 years together.
Tom’s friends and bandmates also shared memories of him during the service. Max George, his bandmate, described him as being like a brother.
Tom Parker rose to fame as a member of The Wanted, the British boy band known for hits in the early 2010s alongside groups like One Direction. He was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in October 2020. He died last month at 33 after his 18-month battle with the disease.
Kelsey Parker is Tom’s widow. The couple shared two children together.
Tom Parker’s death marked the loss of a prominent figure in British pop music, and his very public battle with glioblastoma brought attention to the disease over the 18 months he fought it. The funeral drew an outpouring of public support, with hundreds gathering outside the church and watching the service unfold on screens in the street, a reflection of how deeply fans connected with him and his family during his illness.
Kelsey’s words about feeling as though she and Tom lived “1,000 years together” in just 13 years captured the depth of their relationship for those who gathered to mourn him. Her vow to carry forward his values for their children offered a glimpse of how the family intends to honor his memory going forward.
Tom Parker was 33. He is survived by his wife Kelsey and their two children.
