When we were asked to write a tribute to our Grandad,
it was difficult to find the words, because in truth, there aren’t any that can
describe someone so special, so irreplaceable, and who had such an incredible
influence on our lives. To us, he wasn’t just a
Grandad. He was also a second Dad, our best friend, and our
hero.
When we were children, we had hours of fun with
him. He and Grandma would take us out for days, sometimes to the
Botanic Gardens in Cambridge, where we would feed squirrels, collect leaves,
and eat picnics – then go back to their house and draw pictures of our day.
Sometimes we would go to Ely, where we would stand under the railway bridge
while the trains came over our heads. We would spend days at his
house, where he would help us make things, like Christmas decorations in
August. He loved photography, and would show us how to develop our
own photos using a dark room. He would help us with our Maths
homework. Grandad was a teacher by profession, and he was also a
teacher to us.
Grandad used to tell us a story of when he was lecturing at Homerton teacher training college. He started out with just a few students in his lectures, and then over a few weeks the numbers increased more and more, until one day the place was packed out. The students had enjoyed listening to him so much, that word had spread around the whole college, to come to Mr Barton’s lectures. We can imagine why his classes were so popular. He could make absolutely anything sound interesting, and people simply loved being around him, and hearing him impart his wisdom, knowledge and humour. He touched so many people’s lives, but we were the lucky ones, because we could call him our own.
For Grandad, the glass was always half full. He went through some sad times through his life, but he never stopped seeing the positive. He would always say to us, “there is no problem, for which there isn’t a solution”. And usually, Grandad would be the one to find the solution. One of our fondest memories of this, was when our family moved house, and we were faced with the problem of how to transport our nine rabbits - complete with their hutches - from one house to another. The next thing we knew, Grandad was walking up the hill between our old house and our new one, pushing all the rabbits in a wheelbarrow.
As we grew up, he was the first person we would turn to for advice, and no matter how hard life seemed, after a good chat with Grandad, everything was o.k. again. The advice he offered, we have come to live by. If we had relationship problems, he would say “don’t associate with anyone who makes you doubt yourself”. In difficult times, he would say “there are some things in life, that you just have to let go”. In our long chats, he always focused on happy things. “Good and bad times are just a part of life”, he would say, “but the one thing we’ll always have, are our memories”. There was nothing he ever said, that we couldn’t take with us, as a lesson to remember. And in turn, he showed us how important we were, to him, too. “You are my and Grandma’s world”, he used to say. Most times when we would phone him, he would say “it’s so lovely to hear your voice my pet” or “my son”. No matter what, he was always on our side, and we were always on his.
Grandad had many passions in life. Maths, Physics and Astronomy especially. He would spend hours “refreshing his memory”, reading A level textbooks to check his standards weren’t slipping! Grandad loved his garden and you would never see it looking anything other than immaculate. Even recently he was determined he would get outside and tackle some weeds that were annoying him. Sport was another favourite. There was nothing he couldn’t tell you about the history of Essex County Cricket Club. Every weekend he would want to know the result of his much loved Colchester United Football Club. Despite the fact they rarely win, he never lost interest and said “never mind, I'm sure the results will pick up”.
But without doubt his main passion was his family. He used to say “everybody quarrels sometimes, but it’s important to get along and tell each other you love them”. If ever there is a blueprint to how to live your life, and how to conduct yourself, his life was it. Every decision he made was like a maths equation, weighing up the pros and cons, until he got the right answer, which he always did.
He kept a fighting spirit and good humour even towards the end of his life. He always loved his books, and when his eyesight started to fail, no problem, he had a magnifying glass. When that didn’t work any more, still no problem, he would listen to CDs instead. Earlier this year he suffered a fall, and had to have a stay in hospital. Afterwards he said “I still ate my dinner while I was waiting for the ambulance; your Grandma had cooked a lovely pie, I couldn’t let that go to waste!”. When he arrived home, proudly sporting a black eye, he laughed and said “you should’ve seen the other bloke!”
As we say goodbye to Grandad today, we are not only mourning his loss, but also thanking him for everything he was to us. Without him, we would not be the people we are today, and we're sure that everyone in this room will agree that their lives were better, for his being a part of it. From the words his family and friends have said, over the past couple of weeks, we know that is true. “He was a great man”. “He was my favourite uncle”. “We were blessed to have had him”. “He brought his wonderful personality to all our lives”. All of those words speak volumes about the man he was, and what he meant to us all.
As children he was a man you could have fun with, as teenagers he was someone to look up to and listen to. As adults he was, and still is, an inspiration. The lessons and values he taught us will be passed to his cherished Great Grandson Ryan, so rest assured there will be a part of him with all of us, for many years to come.
Grandad, you are loved more than you will ever know, and you will always be missed. We know you are happy now, and reunited with those that you too, loved and missed very much. We will take good care of Grandma for you, because we know how much you loved her, and we love her too. For the rest of our lives we’ll feel proud and privileged, that you were our Grandad, and that you live on in us. And we would like to finish this tribute, in the way that you always used to finish our phone calls...
“Cheerio for now, and lots of love”.
“Cheerio for now, and lots of love”.
In loving memory of Douglas William Henry Barton
8th November 1923- 11th November 2013
8th November 1923- 11th November 2013
