A FAMILY have paid tribute to their determined and charismatic father who founded a Pembrokeshire business which has helped millions of people living with diabetes worldwide to live to the full.
Garnet Wolsey passed away on February 18 this year, and was remembered by his family at a service at Pen-y-Bont chapel on March 3.
Together with his wife Althea, he founded FRIO in the early 1990s, at the family farm near Wolfscastle where it is based to this day.
The Company makes the world’s first patented insulin cooling wallet.
The FRIO wallets keep insulin and other temperature-sensitive medicines cool and safe.
Prior to the development of FRIO wallets, it was difficult for people with insulin-dependent diabetes to keep their insulin cool and safe while travelling, especially in hot climates.
“He took great pride in helping people,” said his son Chris Wolsey, MD at FRIO.
“Both mum and dad were very proud of FRIO. We had hundreds and hundreds of letters from people thanking us.”
Garnet Wolsey, founder of FRIO, with Formula 1 gear. FRIO supplied cooling suits to Michael Schumacher and other racing drivers.
Born Henry Garnet Wolsey in Dunvant, Swansea on October 22, 1929, Garnet met his wife Althea while on leave from the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers in the 1950s.
They married in 1954, and had four children: Anthony, Karen, Helen, and Chris.
The family lived in Killay, Swansea for many years, and later at a farm in the Amman Valley before moving to Pembrokeshire to take up residence of Lammas Farm, Wolfscastle in 1980.
Their daughter Helen was twice world champion powerlifter in the 1980s, and inspired by this, the proud parents began developing cooling sports bands for athletes’.
FRIO then went on to supply its cooling bands to Team GB at the Atlanta Olympics and Paralympics in 1996.
Garnet was 68, and Althea 71 when they started FRIO, but age was no object to ambition.
The insulin wallets which FRIO is now famous for started from a chance meeting at a trade show in the NEC in Birmingham.
Garnet was there to display FRIO’s cooling bands and was asked if he would be able to use the technology to cool insulin on the go.
He and Althea rose to the challenge and created the first version of what would become the FRIO wallet.
When it worked, the Wolseys began to think about how it could change the lives of the millions living with diabetes across the world.
Helen, Karen, and Chris all remember their parents working very hard to make the business a success, even taking phone calls in the middle of the night as FRIO expanded for an international audience.
“He worked really hard to get where he did. It was all down to hard work and determination,” said Garnet’s daughter, Helen Wolsey.
Her sister Karen Munn said: “I think he always wanted to be successful, and he wanted to be remembered.
“He was a proud man. Proud of his achievements and his heritage.”
In his later years, Garnet became fascinated by family history and was able to trace his heritage back to within a generation of Cardinal Wolsey, a courtier of King Henry VIII.
The four siblings are full of praise for the values of hard work and determination their father instilled in them.
“Everybody always had to have some determination, and he would push everybody to do well,” said Helen.
“If you were interested he would encourage you and give you all the backing to succeed in life.
“He was a very good businessman and could see opportunities where other people could see nothing at all,” said Chris.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here