’s wife Kelsey has shared an emotional poem about grief, one week on from the musician’s funeral.
Parker after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in late 2020.
He was 33-years-old when he died 17 months on from the shocking diagnosis, with the life expectancy for those diagnosed with glioblastoma being around 12 to 18 months, according to the Brain Tumour Research charity.
Kelsey announced Parker’s death with a devastating social media post, confirming that he died surrounded by loved ones, including bandmates Jay McGuinness, Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes and .
Parker’s funeral took place last week, with , with fans lining the street to show their support, as invited by Kelsey.
Now, the mum-of-two is reflecting on her loss with a message about what grief means.
The quote she posted to her Instagram story was by Donna Ashworth from the poetry book, I Wish I Knew.
‘Grief may feel like the dying of the soul while the body still lives,’ it read.
‘But you are alive my friend. And they are not, nor do they want you to be with them yet.
‘They very much want you to live. Do not fear the grief you feel, it’s just love thrashing around, looking for somewhere to go.’
Kelsey is now parenting two young children – Aurelia, two, and Bodhi, one, – following her husband’s death.
In his honour, while the little ones did not attend their dad’s funeral, a floral display reading ‘daddy’ was seen, as well as handmade handprint paintings.
Kelsey shared that her husband’s funeral would be live-streamed for fans to watch outside the church on April 20 while close family and friends gathered inside.
She read a heartfelt eulogy dedicated to Parker, calling him her ‘soulmate’ and saying their wedding was ‘the best day of my life.’
Kelsey recalled how she met Parker in a nightclub before he became famous, and told everyone that she was ‘wanted to marry Tom Parker.’
Drawing laughter, she then revealed in the pre-recorded eulogy: ‘Tom told me he was going to be famous and wouldn’t have time for a girlfriend, but he wouldn’t leave me alone.’
Kelsey continued: ‘I will treasure every memory because life with you was never dull. You were always coming up with songs, new game shows and we all know how much you loved an invention – I bet you were gutted you never made it on Dragons’ Den.
‘Marrying you was the best day of my life… soulmates, that’s what we are.’
Outside St Francis of Assisi church, flowers spelt out the words ‘Glad You Came’, the title of The Wanted’s 2011 hit that went to number one in multiple countries.
Most recently, the pop band , Gold Forever.
The Wanted, Island Records and the writers and producers of the song will be donating all net proceeds to The Brain Tumour Charity in Parker’s memory.
The updated version of the track entitled Gold Forever (For Tom) was originally played  in south-east .
