Though life, of course, and the passage of time marches on relentlessly for us all, for Jon and Dawn, alongside their Mum and own children, Colin’s memory, impact and influence will always be there.
But when asked to quantify his remarkable life and enduring legacy – it’s his tireless, lifelong devotion to family rather than titanic footballing exploits that Dawn points to as her Dad’s greatest and abiding achievement.
“It’s a difficult one to answer because I don’t think anybody apart from Mum and us really knew Dad,” Dawn points out.
“There are a few peripheral friends, but I don’t think anybody really understands or knows that.
“Dad is way more special than anybody will ever realize because his main success in life was being with Mum and bringing us up.
“I don’t mean that in an arrogant way at all but that is what he would have wanted.
“But I think you’ll find if you talk to people who met him, everybody was in awe or grateful of the fact of his generosity and kindness. But I think those relationships were on a one-to-one basis.
“I think those are more important because you have an impact on an individual rather than being on a screen or in a press room, that is more for yourself.
“Whereas actually, Dad would be happy to spend time with individuals one to one and that is probably more impactful.”
“When you say how you think people will remember him, generations change and memories are lost and evolve,” Jon points out.
“He didn't care to be a celebrity. There were so many opportunities presented to him but that just wasn’t him.
“A lot of players now in the world of social media can create a new career for themselves and go into other things. But for Dad, he finished playing and then it just stopped.”
“Dad didn't want that [fame]. Ultimately, I so respect his ability to just be true to himself,” says Dawn.
“I’m also proud of that resilience that meant he went on to achieve all that he achieved.
“And his loyalty generally was just exceptional both to Mum and to us. And he really had a closeness to the fans that was beyond anything.
“But above all, to us he was just Dad.”