Dad certainly lived life to the fullest and many of the tributes to him described him as larger than life – maybe because if he was in a room you couldn’t miss him. His laugh, his sneezing, his enthusiastic singing were all loud! Very loud! All of that made for a very embarrassing dad if you were a teenager, especially as he was almost guaranteed to be wearing socks with sandals! However, even if he probably was louder than a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal, Dad definitely wasn’t short on love. Dad loved with an abundance, and as a family we have been really touched by how many of you mentioned his kindness, his love, his warmth and his thoughtfulness. His jovial appearance hid a seriously kind, deeply perceptive, thoughtful and caring man.

The extent of his love has been apparent in the messages we as a family have received. Messages from friends and colleagues near and far – those who have known him several decades, and others who met him recently. Everyone spoke of the impact he had had on their life and how he will be missed.

As a family we want to thank everyone who has supported us and shared their memories and kind words as we are overwhelmed by the number of you who have reached out. It is incredible to see so many people here today and joining us online. Thank you so much.

I think Dad loved everyone, but there are three groups we wanted to highlight today which hopefully sums up who Dad was, how we will remember him, and the legacy he has left.

He loved his family, his community and his church.

He loved nature, the outdoors and travelling the world.

He loved the underdog, those who were victims of injustice and those who had been excluded by society.

Dad was a very present, hands on dad – even at a time when he was often the only father in the playground. Helen and I still remember with a fondness Friday cakes and Fun House every Friday when he picked us up from school. Our friends remember him being told off for cheering us on too loudly at a netball game! He’s encouraged both of us to pursue our passions and we know how much he loved us and was proud of us. More recently he’s been a doting and fun Granddad, with both Hannah and Sarah saying how they will miss Granddad’s silly stories and especially his funny voices. They loved his crazy sense of humour and how he tried to convince them that broccoli was green cauliflower or parsnips were white carrots. He strung up swings from trees in the garden, and played lots of hide and seek or imaginative monster games. Planting flowers into pots with him was one of the favourite birthday party activities with Hannah’s friends.

He had a deep love and respect for our mum, and they were such an incredible team. They say that iron sharpens iron, and they both brought out the best in each other. Nowhere was that more apparent than here at St Peter’s. We don’t have time to name all the ways Dad served here – at the tech desk, the website, lay chair for the PCC, safeguarding officer, digging holes and planting fruit trees – but he wanted to make sure St Peter’s was a warm and welcoming place for everyone, church goer or not. His focus was never on himself, but on how to help others, and everything he did he did with enthusiasm and vigour.

Dad was also a loyal and kind friend. He was always ready with a cheery hello, a wave or a chat. A “quick” trip to the village was rarely that as he would inevitably bump into someone he wanted to talk to, or he would start up a conversation with a new friend. He loved to debate ideas, share musings or exchange obscure facts and ideas that most of us didn’t understand! Those of you who were here early may well have recognized some Flanders and Swan music. This is a reflection of the times Dad and Bob Critoph would share lifts to Warwick Uni singing their songs with great enthusiasm. (Thank you Kim)


As well as loving people, Dad also loved nature. Caring for the environment was really important for him, and he was an enthusiastic member of the team that saw St Peter’s recognized as an Eco Church.

Hannah and Sarah called him the “King of Gardening” and he certainly was a keen and successful gardener, who would talk to his plants. As a result we have always enjoyed a wide variety of fruit and veg from the garden! We will certainly miss his help and advice with our gardens! He has spent countless hours with Hannah and Sarah teaching them about rocks and minerals, about gardening and names of different plants and flowers. He often took flowers down to them on Wednesdays when he picked them up from school. They asked us to pick irises from the garden for them to put on the coffin as they were his favourite.

He also just loved being outside and walking. Mum and Dad have hiked the Inca Trail in Peru, the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal, The Rockies and enjoyed many other walks in the UK and Europe. Derbyshire and the Malverns were favourite destinations closer to home. Family holidays were spent camping in Scotland or Northern Ireland and he wouldn't miss an opportunity to point out the geography or geology of the local area so you can imagine how much he loved the Giant's Causeway.  Whenever it was nice out, and often even when it was pouring with rain, we would walk over the fields just to get some fresh air and enjoy the countryside. Even when it was -20 in Canada we went out on walks and Dad was keen to have a go at cross country skiing!

Dad’s real passion was for the underdog. He readily admitted he had privilege, but he was determined to use it for the good of others. One note said “the world of race equality has lost a powerful champion”. How true. Dad actually moved to Balsall Common to join a new national centre set up to research Race and Ethnic Relations before most people even realized that it was needed. It certainly wasn’t sexy or highly regarded, but Dad knew how important it was. He became the UK’s first Professor of Diversity and was devoted to helping others see and celebrate the values of diversity and difference. He wanted to bring about change and make people value cultural differences and respect people for who they are. It is clear from the tributes that have poured in that he has had a profound impact on the field of ethnicity in health and social care. He was also a valued teacher, mentor and supervisor, generous with his time and expertise, encouraging everyone in their own career and seeing the potential in them to make a difference. They have told us how his legacy lives on in the minds, hearts, and work of the many scholars he mentored throughout the years.

This wasn’t just work for him – it was how he lived his life. He has been described as a valued friend of the Sikh community, the heart and soul of the Ukrainian English conversation club, and as Alison mentioned at the beginning, we know that people from many faith backgrounds and diverse cultures are here in person or watching online. Dad enjoyed celebrating Diwali, Vaisakhi, Eid and all the South Asian religious festivals as well as Christmas with his friends and colleagues, especially if it involved food, and they have shared their fond memories of these times too.

As kids we had the privilege of attending Hindu and Sikh weddings of Dad’s friends, of experiencing different cultures and recognizing the richness of the world because of this. Dad also knew what it was like to live in different cultures – after he left school, he spent time living in the Solomon Islands as a volunteer with VSO and later lived in Nigeria when he was researching for his PhD. The experience of being a white minority left a lasting impression on him. Whenever he met someone from abroad he would try and speak to them in a few words of their own language – often badly, but we were always amazed by how many languages he knew even a few words of!

Dad was a graduate of Oxford University with a doctorate from Liverpool – and yet he could communicate just as well with people who had dropped out of school as with other academics. Often at The Rock, the local youth centre, he would spend hours chatting with the lads who had been excluded from school and clubs. They respected him and years later would still stop and say hello when they bumped into him in the village. He always enjoyed hearing how they were getting on and was really proud of what they had achieved. He loved loading up the car with clothes, household items and fresh produce at harvest to support the Sparkhill Foodbank and Resource Centre’s work in one of Birmingham’s most deprived areas.

Our parents both shared a great gift of hospitality and there was always a space at our table for people who might otherwise have been alone. They loved welcoming people from different cultures and countries and thoroughly enjoyed providing a home for Eddy, a youth worker from Kenya, and more recently Nastia and Veronika from Ukraine. Dad especially loved the different culinary experiences this allowed!

It was his love for God which we believe underpinned the way Dad lived and loved. He had a very sure and certain faith which was the foundation for all that he did.
His passion for justice, desire for unity and reconciliation, and seeing God’s love expressed in very real and practical ways is reflected in how he tried to live out one of his favourite passages from the Bible. The prophet Micah says “he has shown you, oh mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”

There is much more we could share, and we know you all have your own favourite memories of Dad, but I think we can all agree that he was someone who loved well, someone who we all will miss deeply, but someone who has left a tremendous legacy, and I am sure Jesus has welcomed him home with the words "well done my good and faithful servant".