Kev Gratton, 53, from a village near Belper in Derbyshire, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma in November 2023 after suffering from severe headaches and dizziness. A loyal husband to Jeanette and proud dad to Abigail and Nathan, Kev was known for his hard work, humour and love of family. He faced his diagnosis with incredible strength and positivity, supported by Jeanette, their children and an extended family who rallied around him. Kev died peacefully on 22 October 2025, surrounded by his loved ones, and his family continue to raise awareness and funds for Brain Tumour Research in his honour.
Here is Kev’s story, as told by his brother, Neal...
If you ask anyone about my brother Kev, they will tell you he was the most genuine and loyal bloke you could meet. He suffered no fools, said it as it was, and was always the first to lend a hand when someone needed it. He spent more than 35 years working his way up through the ranks at the same company, driven by sheer graft and dedication. Kev was a true family man – everything he did was for those he loved.
For more than 20 years, Kev and Jeanette enjoyed caravan holidays all over the UK, particularly in the Snowdonia region of Wales. Their last big adventure was a road trip to the very top of Scotland in May 2023, just months before everything changed. Kev was also a huge music lover. He went to as many gigs as he could manage and never missed a performance by Nathan’s band, Rattlesnakes, until his health began to decline.
It began in the summer of 2023 when Kev started to lose weight and became unusually tired.
By September the headaches and dizziness had become severe. He visited his GP in early October, but at first they were not concerned. When the symptoms persisted, he went back. A week later, he was referred for a routine emergency CT scan in three weeks’ time.
Things worsened, so he went to Royal Derby Hospital A&E where a scan revealed a brain tumour the size of a lemon. Two weeks later he underwent a debulking operation at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. In November 2023 we were told it was a glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer with a prognosis of 12 to 18 months.
Kev had 30 consecutive sessions of radiotherapy at Royal Derby Hospital in January 2024 followed by nine months of temozolomide chemotherapy. A scan that October showed some reduction in the tumour, but by April 2025 it had grown again, and he started a new course of PCV chemotherapy at Derby.
In the final months of his life, Kev sadly lost almost all movement on his left side and used a wheelchair.
Yet he continued to push himself at weekly physiotherapy sessions, determined to regain whatever strength he could. That determination was pure Kev – he never gave in.
When Kev was first diagnosed, I was devastated. We had drifted apart a bit over the years, as brothers sometimes do, but since that day we became closer than ever. I sometimes think about the time we lost, but we made the most of every moment we had left.
The hardest thing was watching the toll it took on Kev mentally, and on his wife Jeanette, their children, Abi and Nathan, and our dad, Phil.
Jeanette was incredible, caring for him day and night while holding the family together. Abi and Nathan showed such maturity and strength through everything, even while dealing with the heartbreak of watching their dad deteriorate. Our dad had lost his own brother to leukaemia at 41, so this reopened painful old wounds for him. Still, seeing Kev’s courage gave us all strength.
Sadly, my brother Kev lost his fight against this terrible disease that is brain cancer. He took his last breath around 19:00hrs on the 22 October 2025.
Glioblastoma is an evil disease and it takes no prisoners. The only comfort I can take is that Kev is now at peace and seeing the devotion that Nette, Abi & Nathan showed during his last moments, really hit home on how much he was loved.
We first took part in Race the Train last year in Tywyn, Wales, to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research, a charity that means so much to us all.
That part of Wales holds special memories from childhood holidays with Kev, riding the Talyllyn Railway was always the highlight. Kev even volunteered there as a “tracksider”, helping with small maintenance jobs, so it felt only right to run in his honour.
In 2025, we ran again because of Kev. If he could face what he was going through, the least we could do was put ourselves through a few miles of pain. The heat was brutal, but every step reminded us why we were doing it. It hit hard that Kev could not be there in person. In 2024, he had handed me a Guinness halfway round. It just was not the same without him, Jeanette or the dogs, but we knew he was with us in spirit.
Our team included Nathan and his partner Olympia, Abi and her partner Dan, Harry who is Kev’s best friend’s son, and me. Cheering us on were my wife Bethan, my dad Phil, and Kev and Jeanette’s close friends Kev and Gail. Abi also completed another 10k fundraiser at Carsington Water beforehand, raising £2,000.
So far, we have raised £17,589 – more than six days of research at one of Brain Tumour Research’s Centres of Excellence. Knowing that makes every mile worthwhile.
The moment that will stay with me forever was crossing the finish line hand in hand with a stranger I had met halfway round, Tom, after telling him about Kev. He donated on the spot and we have stayed in touch since. It was a special moment.
Supporting Brain Tumour Research means everything to me. If what we have done can help even in a small way to bring a cure closer, I will sleep better at night. My message to anyone reading this is simple: life is too short. Do not put off tomorrow what you can do today. Do not let time or pride stop you from healing rifts or saying how you feel, because sometimes what you do not say hurts the most.
Love you Kev, my little big bro. Keep fighting, keep smiling and keep rocking on, in my chair.
Neal Gratton
October 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Kev’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure.
