THE funeral of a factory worker whose body washed up on a beach will be held a year to the day he disappeared.
Michael Murphy, 32, was last seen leaving the Convatec factory on Deeside Industrial Park on January 4.
He had clocked on for his early morning shift and made a cup of tea before leaving work unannounced.
His red Volkswagen Polo was later recovered on the Flintshire Bridge.
The body of Mr Murphy, from Connah’s Quay, was discovered on the coastline at West Kirby, Wirral, on December 4.
Friends and family are invited to wear football shirts to his funeral, which will be held on Friday, January 4, at Pentrebychan Crematorium, near Wrexham, at 12pm.
There will be a service afterwards at The Centenary Club in Wrexham.
His mother Ann Murphy, 57, said: “The last week has been hellish but we can lay him to rest soon.
“We’ve been invited by the funeral directors to lay some personal things in his casket, so his sister Jo will take a pair of Only Fools and Horses slippers because he loved that show.”
Donations from the funeral will be given to the search teams who scoured the River Dee and its bank for clues, including North East Wales Search and Rescue (NEWSAR), the Search and Rescue Dog Association (SARDA) and the RNLI.
Mr Murphy is also survived by brother Jac, 23, an MSc student at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, sister Joanna, 22, from Greenfield, and stepfather Julian Shirley, 60.
Tributes continue to pour in on the Facebook page, Gone But Not Forgotten Michael Murphy.
Sharon Hewitt posted: “Mike wasn’t just a son, brother, nephew, uncle. He was a true friend who we loved and will never forget.”
And Alana Brian Burke said: “So sorry you’re gone Mike. Your family can finally get closure and start to grieve properly.”
An inquest into Mr Murphy’s death has been opened and adjourned to a date to be fixed.