I thought it might be a good idea for us who have lost a loved one this year to pen a few words as a kind of mini obituary. It's the least we can do to let other visitors share your loss, and your respect for the person.
I'll make a start.
The first person I would like to mention actually passed away last December. Dave was about 75. He helped me a lot in recent years with critical comments of some of the items that I designed. He discovered late in life that his dad was not his real dad. He did some research and found his real dad. He then had his surname changed to that of his real dad. It caused a lot of trouble in the beginning.
In February another good friend passed away after a poor recovery from an operation. He had had a bad throw of the dice in life, but I won't bother you with the details. To end it all, last year an uncle of his passed away and left him and his brother around U$4million. He was hoping to use some of the money to buy his daughter a house, and then spend a bit on himself. He called me in February to tell me that he had an operation and was going to come down to London in the summer to see me. But unfortunately it never happened. John helped me in the early part of my business. He had a lathe on which he could make one off metal parts for me to try out on my designs. He would drive 5 hours to come and visit me for a drink and smoke, and then drive back home in Wales. I regret not having been able to make it to his funeral. His daughter only informed and invited some of their family.
In March the brother of my dad passed away. The two of them fled Germany at the beginning of WWII. My uncle went to Australia, and then the US. My uncle was part of a team that invented something. He made money out of it at the time and retired as soon as he could. He then bought a house in Las Vegas where he lived until his death. Communication with him was difficult. I only know a bit of German, and he prefered to talk in German.
The last person I wish to mention is Val. We used to work together in the 80's. But the group of people I worked with then still stay in touch. We even go to parties etc together. Val was a playboy, and married. He could not have kids, but that did not affect his appetite for females. He told me some years ago that he had cancer. But he did he best to live a normal life. We had a great get together for dinner early this year, when he told me that he was now on the last remaining tablets that could prolong his life. We had agreed to go on another lunch date in the first week of July, after he had come back from probably the last holiday with his wife. I called him the last week of June to check if he was back and to arrange a date to meet. he then told me that he had been in hospital instead of on holidays. The tablets had also stopped working, so there was nothing they could do for him except put him in a bed in a hospice and wait for the inevitable. He asked to go home instead. His obituary at his funeral was the funniest I have ever heard. His brother spilled the beans on his adulteress life. I'll never know how his wife put up with it. The church was packed to the rafters, with people having to stand in the isles and outside. he was well loved guy.
