Chumpy’s widow Ellidy Pullin announces dad’s death after battle with stage four cancer

The widow of Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin has been dealt another gut-wrenching blow, just 18 months after losing her partner in a drowning incident at Palm Beach.

Ellidy Pullin, widow of champion snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin, has been dealt another gut-wrenching blow with the tragic death of her father.

The mother-of-one took to social media on Monday, revealing to her 151,000 followers that her father Pete Vlug had died after a hard-fought battle with stage four terminal cancer.

Ellidy Pullin (R) with brother Dave Vlug and father Pete. Picture: Instagram

“Rest in Paradise Dadda. You lit up our entire lives! We’d always turn to you for a laugh if ever we were down,” she wrote in touching tribute alongside photos from her childhood.

Ms Pullin reflected on moments her fun-loving dad – who she described as the family’s “very own tarzan” – would let she and brother Dave make prank calls.

“Every Saturday was surf safari day and we’d sing The Beach Boys en route to Freshie beach at the top of our lungs out the windows, begging for red lights so that the drive could take longer. Everything with you was so fun.”

Ms Pullin spent recent months in her hometown of Narrabeen Beach, north of Sydney, to spend time with Mr Vlug as his condition deteriorated.

She documented the special moments through social media, including the moment daughter Minnie met her grandad – and Mr Pullin’s parents for the first time.

Mr Vlug was “the strongest guy ever,” she said, who “smashed his prognosis,” which came about a month after her partner died as result of a suspected shallow water blackout at Palm Beach in July 2020.

Her father underwent surgery to remove the stage four glioblastoma shortly after, only to learn in the following months that a second inoperable tumour had been found in his brain.

Ellidy Pullin shares a tribute to partner ‘Chumpy’ and father Pete Vlug. Picture: Ellidy Pullin

“Whenever we would get upset watching you deteriorated you’d say “don’t worry, be happy,” Ms Pullin continued. “You taught us to never grow up or take life too seriously!

In one particularly moving post, the new mum, who welcomed daughter Minnie last October through posthumous sperm retrieval, shared a tribute to ‘Chumpy’ and her father.

“Not sure where these two are but that place is just getting better and better! I have no doubt they are together and absolutely ripping at that,” she captioned the bittersweet post.

Ellidy Pulli with father Pete Vlug. Picture: Ellidy Pullin

Ms Pullin, 29, spoke in detail about her father’s health battle last October during a candid chat with best friend and podcast co-host Chloe Fisher: “(It) is basically the most aggressive cancer and stage four is the final phase,” Ms Pullin told listeners.

“They said to us, this was last September, that dad would probably make it to Christmas and not too much longer but it’s been a year and he’s absolutely amazing, his mindset is just incredible.”

Originally published as Chumpy’s widow Ellidy Pullin announces dad’s death after battle with stage four cancer