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A Fremantle business is selling bright and bold board shorts in memory of a Perth father who died on a WA beach earlier this year.
The special Willie Wagtail, or Chitty Chitty, design has been created in memory of Andy Rutherford, who died at the age of 48.
“Dad loved Chitty Chitties,” son Fraser Rutherford told 9News.
“Andy was an incredibly loyal husband, father, friend, incredibly active and engaged,” widow Renae Rutherford told 9News.
The father-of-two was at Greens Pool in Demark when he collapsed in April, with his mates forced to perform CPR.
“Just incredibly lucky that he was with two people who knew what to do because you just never know when you’ll be expected to call on those skills or be expected to know where a defib might be,” Renae said.
Local St John ambulance volunteers also responded at the scene but Andy tragically didn’t make it – passing away from a heart arrhythmia.
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“I didn’t realise that it was someone that I knew,” St John volunteer Lesley Murphy told 9News.
“We did everything we could and he was not alone when he died.”
Andy was a big supporter of local business South Beach Boardies, who hs now created the pairs of shorts in his name.
“Some days when you are having a tough day as a business owner I’d see Andy and I was like I got this,” Kirsten Lopez told 9News.
All profits from these shorts will go towards purchasing defibrillators to be installed along regional beaches in WA, ensuring everyone has access to critical care.
“Anybody who doesn’t know how to do CPR and doesn’t know how to use a defibrillator, do not hesitate to get that training, you just never know,” Murphy said.
