Dad was born in Ottery on 20th October 1929 he was the youngest of a family of 5, his father Frank was in the Royal Navy and much of his childhood was spent helping his mother and siblings grow veg and enjoying a carefree childhood with groups of friends playing in Coleridge’s woods and down by the river. He also played with the railway level crossing gates, something he wasn’t supposed to do, resulting in two broken thumbs which he then couldn’t bend for the rest of his life! He used to talk of when his father’s ship was in dock the family would travel down to Portsmouth and rent a room so they could see him. He remained close to all of his siblings into their old age.
Dad’s National Service was with the RAF based at Plymouth and when he returned he went to Technology College which was in Exeter and he would walk daily to Exeter from Ottery for his studies. On completion of his training he joined Ottermill as an Electrical Engineer, where during his time with them, he set up a factory in Qatar. He came back to Ottermill and his beloved Ottery and finished his working days with Ottermill retiring after 40+ yrs with them.
Marriage and children meant new responsibilities which he always faced, taking on extra work as a relief fireman to make ends meet. He would have his trousers ready to jump into if the alarm went off, he could recall many a tale of getting dressed as he ran down the alley to the Fire station, there were many gorse fires and a few haystacks, thatch cottages fires even deep snow and floods. He also had many fun times with the fire service and speak to David or Jon to find out the infamous teeth story!
In 1965 Dad and Mum were helped by a work colleague to go and look at the new houses in St Budeaux Close they made a big jump and took out a mortgage, other people moved in to the close at the same time and the neighbour s all became such good friends they went on holidays abroad together with all their children being around the same age. Indeed it was only last year that Dad and Di C stopped living next to each other after 51 years.
Jonathan was born in 1958 David in 1963 and Sarah 1974 Dad loved his children and took them boating, fishing and to the beach. He had a brilliant sense of humour that was unique and quirky. Adam and Lois can remember the goldfish sandwich episode, and the Cat food sandwich he pretended to eat!
He was generous to his family, never forgot birthdays or Chrstmas, cards often arrived early to make sure. His generosity extended to his time and 2 years after his retirement from OtterMill aged 67 he joined the Help Scheme and for the next 13 yrs, delivered meals ,visited and took isolated people shopping and to hospital appointments , stopping at 80 to look after his older sister Barbara .
As with any life his was not without challenge and probably his biggest was in 2013, with the unexpected passing of his beautiful daughter Sarah at the young age of 40, something Dad never really recovered from.
Although Dad had many health issues to deal with, he faced them all, bravely and got back on with his life. He never lost his feeling of the need to provide for his family and stayed in his own home until he was unable to care for himself, always wanting to ensure if anyone in the family had a problem they had a place to go.
Dad was a very avid reader Jon remembers him exchanging library books twice a week, he read widely and introduced us to other authors, he also enjoyed music but being unable to hear hampered that a lot, he discovered Andre Rieu on Sky and enjoyed all the concerts he could find .
Football was a big love of his life, his boys supported different teams but he enjoyed them all. For many years he came to watch his son David play for local teams never missing a match he was the main and often only supporter. He later loved to watch football on television and discuss the match with his boys on the phone!
Dads final months were spent at Linksway Nursing Home in Exmouth and after a lifetime of caring for others, we take comfort from the fact he was well cared for as he became more frail.
He passed away peacefully on Sunday the 11th of June with both Jon and David beside him.