Wife of British soccer icon dies after ’emergency’ on Jet2 Tenerife flight
The widow of Celtic icon Tommy Burns has tragically died on a plane. Rosemary Burns, 69, was flying with Jet2 from Tenerife to Glasgow when an on-board incident was declared.
Rosemary fell ill on yesterday’s (Wednesday, July 3), forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Cork.
A source close to the family told the Daily Record that Rosemary started to feel unwell while on holiday in the Canaries and boarded an earlier flight home.
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They said: “Rosemary became unwell while on holiday in Tenerife. She became ill and felt that she had to get home. She decided to end her trip and fly back to Scotland.”
(Image: Daily Record)
“She got on the plane and became unwell. The flight was supposed to land in Glasgow but it ended up being diverted to Cork.”
Jet2 confirmed flight LS176 was diverted to Cork, Ireland, after a passenger became unwell on board in the early hours of Wednesday.
Tributes were led to Rosemary by football fans who expressed their condolences to the Burns family.
One person wrote: “Extremely sad news to hear Rosemary Burns has passed away. My thoughts and prayers are with the Burns family and their friends. Now at peace with Tommy.”
(Image: PA)
Another said: “It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we extend our sincere condolences to the Burns family on the passing of Rosemary. The beloved wife of legend Tommy Burns. She was a remarkable woman whose warmth and kindness touched the lives of many Celtic fans.”
A third wrote: “There will be a warm welcome waiting in heaven for you Rosemary. May you fly high with the angels in heaven.”
Rosemary and Tommy met as just 17-years-old at a disco in Glasgow. They married in 1980 and went on to have four children together.
The couple were married for 28 years before Tommy’s death in 2008. Tommy, who served Celtic as player, manager, coach and Head of Youth, passed away at the age of 51 following a battle with skin cancer.
(Image: Bob Thomas/Getty Images)
Speaking after his death, Rosemary told the Record: “Celtic was everything to Thomas. There were three Fs in his life – faith, football and family. He lived the dream. He never took anything for granted.”
“Celtic was what he loved. He was never out of the club. Angie the washing lady used to say to him ‘are you still here?’ because she couldn’t get away until he left and he was still wearing his training gear and she couldn’t leave until it was washed.”
“She went off her head with him and told him: ‘Have you no’ got a home to go to?’. For him, his greatest memories were the 1988 double. It was historic to do that in the club’s centenary year.”
“Then, when he won the cup as a manager, that was fantastic and he had a lot of success at Kilmarnock too which was great for us.”
A spokesperson for Jet2 said: “We can confirm that flight LS176 from Tenerife to Glasgow diverted to Cork in the early hours of this morning due to a customer requiring medical assistance. The aircraft subsequently departed for Glasgow Airport.”
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