Rob Burrow spent his life proving that size doesn’t determine greatness. When motor neurone disease took his voice, his mobility, and eventually his life at just 41, it was his family who ensured that his message only grew louder.
The rugby league icon, who died in June 2024, left behind a legacy that extends far beyond his eight Super League titles with the Leeds Rhinos. He left behind a wife who became his caregiver and his voice, parents who refused to let his diagnosis define his spirit, and three young children who are growing up carrying his fingerprints on a £6 million MND centre built in his name.
Here’s what you need to know about the family that stood with Rob Burrow until the very end.
Rob Burrow’s Wife: Lindsey Burrow
Lindsey Burrow was more than Rob’s wife. She was his childhood sweetheart, his full-time caregiver, and the woman who promised him she would keep going for their children.
They met as teenagers in Castleford, West Yorkshire, when Lindsey attended dance classes with Rob’s older sisters. They got together when she was 15. By the time Rob died, they had spent more of their lives together than apart.
Lindsey, a physiotherapist, married Rob in 2006. When he was diagnosed with MND in December 2019, she became his carer, feeding, bathing, and even carrying him up the stairs as his body failed him. She kept working, kept raising their children, and kept Rob’s legacy alive.
Rob left her a recorded message on his eye-controlled communication machine, urging her to find love again after he was gone. More than a year after his death, Lindsey told The Telegraph that finding love again is “not on my agenda.” Her priority, she said, is the children.
Rob Burrow’s Children: Macy, Maya, and Jackson
Rob and Lindsey had three children: Macy, now 14, Maya, now 10, and Jackson, now 7.
Macy, the eldest, was 8 when Rob was diagnosed. Lindsey recalls her asking, “Mum, is Daddy going to die?” Maya, who was just 4 at the time, famously responded to the news by asking if they could watch TV. Jackson was about to turn 1.
Jackson, who was the youngest and has the least memory of his father healthy, is the child Lindsey worries about most. She told The Telegraph she suspects he will need therapy in the future, recalling moments when he broke down in the school playground, missing his dad. He plays rugby now, though Lindsey jokes he “tends to run away from the ball.”
Rob recorded video messages for each of his children on his communication device, to be played at special moments as they grow up. Lindsey has said the messages are still too raw for the children to listen to.
Rob Burrow’s Parents: Geoff and Irene Burrow
Geoff and Irene Burrow live just a mile or two from Lindsey and the children in West Yorkshire, and they have been an anchor for the family since Rob’s death.
Geoff was Rob’s “head of research,” scouring the globe for experimental treatments. He got Rob onto interleukin-2, a repurposed cancer drug that cost £1,200 a month and had to be sourced privately. Rob believed it stabilized him.
Geoff also became the keeper of Rob’s philosophy. “Rob would never blame rugby,” he told The Telegraph. “Rugby has given me a good life,” Rob told his father when asked to join other players in legal action over duty of care.
Irene, Rob’s mother, remembered him as a boy who was told he’d never make it because he was small. “He used to say he was five foot five,” she said, “but he wasn’t that tall!” She described him as someone who always helped younger players settle in. “He had a very big heart.”
After Rob died, Geoff shared the promise he made to his son: “We will find a cure for MND.”
Rob Burrow’s Sisters: Claire and Joanne
Rob grew up with two older sisters, Claire and Joanne. It was through Lindsey’s dance classes with Rob’s sisters that the future couple first met.
Claire was on the phone when Rob called his parents to tell them about his diagnosis. Lindsey recalled the moment in her memoir: “Rob’s sister Claire came on the line and he told them everything was going to be OK.”
Both sisters attended Rob’s memorial service at Leeds Civic Hall, where his family gathered to celebrate his life.
The Legacy They’re Building
The Burrow family has turned their grief into action. Rob raised more than £20 million for MND charities before his death. Lindsey ran the London Marathon in his memory, calling it “a deeply personal journey of love, loss, and resilience.”
The £6 million Rob Burrow Centre for Motor Neurone Disease, the first of its kind in the UK, opened in Leeds in late 2025. Prince William, who wrote a personal letter to Lindsey and the children after Rob’s death, kept his promise to open the centre. He told the children they should be “so proud of your father because he really was an incredibly brave and very special man.”
Lindsey contributed to the centre’s design. She took the children to the construction site, where they wore hard hats and put their hands in concrete so their imprint would be part of the building. Jackson rang the bell that has heralded all of Kevin Sinfield’s fundraising challenges at the opening ceremony.
The Bottom Line
Rob Burrow’s family is his greatest legacy. Lindsey, his childhood sweetheart, became his caregiver and his widow, and now carries his message forward. Macy, Maya, and Jackson are growing up with his lessons about resilience and humor. Geoff and Irene are keeping his memory alive through the MND centre that bears his name.
As Geoff told the world after Rob’s death: “We will find a cure for MND.” That’s the promise the Burrow family is keeping.
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