So upset to hear this, it really never will be the same again watching Alty, but I know he'll have been happy what the club has become now. Some of the best memories of Mark are when things were not going well and his generosity and fortitude shone through. I was going to recount the Gateshead story so I'm glad Jezza did as I'd forgotten half the details.
Instead I'll recount a couple of incidents that give a measure of the sort of man he was. The Gateshead story reminded me of when the same thing happened to me driving to St. Albans with my brother and the engine started knocking and I turned the tape up. Eventually the engine disintegrated near Crewe, and, like an idiot, I decided to plough on and get a taxi the rest of the way as I'd promised to take Paul there. I arrived late, and was allowed onto the supporters coach on the way back. I was going to pay Ecky but he refused, saying "you've spent enough today".
Some years later, after I'd stayed away from games for a couple of years and frankly behaved quite badly, he made a point of welcoming me back to Moss Lane when he saw me.
The time I sat next to him on the way back from Irthlingborough in '97, he had a bottle of vodka (the last match before drinks were banned on the coach!) and he said "everyone on here are heroes", and insisted it wasn't just the vodka, that he meant every word - and he's been as good as his word to Alty supporters over the years, where his passion for his club and his fellow supporters has always been obvious.
He was a hero himself for this club, a terrace leader always trying to get a chant going and keeping the passion alive through some very dark days. He was the sort of supporter, and man, that we could all aspire to be.
RIP Ecky