Page 72 - recollections of a life in Porthleven

Hospital as he had had a heart attack.

When I got to my Dad’s bedside later that evening we chatted for a while,
when he was able to. He said to me, ‘Boy (he only called my Boy on serious
occasions) it’s time you went home now as you have got to go to work in
the morning’. Before I left he gave me his watch and wallet. I can remember
reminding him he would need them himself. At the time I didn’t take a lot
of notice but later what he said made sense. His reply was, ‘Take them home
boy, where I’m going I won’t need them’. I caught hold of his hand and for
some reason kissed his forehead, and said, ‘see you tomorrow Dad’. He
replied, ‘Not until the evening mind and look after Gran’. I said that I would
and I would phone the hospital in the morning to see how he was.
In the morning I called the hospital and was put through to the ward. I was
told Dad had quite a good night and things were not looking too bad.

At about mid-morning I was walking through the shipyard making my way
back to our workshop. I noticed Kenneth Matthews driving into the shipyard.
Kenneth lived a couple of doors up from us in Cliff Road. He was a very
good neighbour and a great family friend. I thought nothing of him coming
into the yard as it was not uncommon. He went into the office and I carried
on into the workshop. A few minutes later Kenneth walked into the workshop
with one of the owners of the shipyard. He came over to me, put his arm
around me and told me he had come to take me home to his house as I had
to ring the hospital. When we got to his house he rang the hospital and asked
to be put through to Dad’s ward. He talked for a minute or so and then passed
me the phone.

I was then told the very sad and devastating news that my Dad had passed
away. Our Dad had to fight hard in life after the far too early death of his
wife, he supported his children found love again with Opal but lost it. Did
life become too much for him? Did he die of a broken heart? He was only
51 years old.

A tribute to my Dad.