The life of Ron Adey

Ron was a South Derbyshire man. He was born in Woodville in 1927 and when he was 2, his Mum and Dad moved from their rented accommodation to become proud owners of the house where Ron grew up and subsequently spent the rest of his life. When Ron was little, he liked playing football and going to football matches with his granddad. He was handy and used to build go-karts out of scrap with his friend, Frank Manning. In fact he was a good do-it-yourself man all his life.	Ron grew up next door to Margaret Vallance (now Clamp) who was born when he was ten. Ron looked after Margaret when she was little and was like a brother to her all her life. Through childhood and youth and later on when Margaret married Maurice and they had their children, Alison and Andrew, Ron remained a close friend. Right till the end of his life, Ron visited Margaret and her family every Wednesday morning. For a lifetime they were friends and helped each other.	Ron was clever and creative. His creative side was well known to all those of us, like Joyce in Whitley Bay, Margaret in Middleton, Ross and Josie in Australia, to whom he wrote letters. Ron's letters were entertaining. He could make the most mundane stuff, like roadworks in Woodville, into a sort of soap opera.When I lived in Papua New Guinea, Ron wrote to me regularly and I always looked forward to the next episode of the Woodville Holes in the Road or the Burton Shopping Episodes.	A sense of duty and responsibility was part of Ron’s character. When he was 17 he signed up and it was while he was in the forces that he met Ken English. Ken, who sadly died a couple of years ago, was another creative soul, an artist, who became a lifelong friend. Ken sketched Ron. Ken sent him a lifetime of letters with interesting doodles and sketches down the side. Later, Ron became friends with Ken’s family and was still writing to them right up until his death. Ken’s family live in Whitley Bay and they, too, are mourning his loss, the hole that has been left in our lives by Ron’s going.
Ron’s first job was Gardener’s Boy and this was how he met and became friends with my father, Herbert Gee, who was Head Gardener at Eureka Lodge in Swadlincote. Ron didn’t really care for the outdoor life and all the weeding and digging so he left to become a clerk at Baileys in Burton, but the friendship between him and my mother and father lasted a lifetime.	Eventually, I, too, arrived on the scene and Ron played with me, taught me to swim and arrived every Saturday afternoon on his bike with a bone for the dog and a packet of Rolos for me. The Rolos were like heaven. Chocolates were a treat in those days and to be given chocolates every week was almost unheard of. Ron gave the most amazingly creative presents any child could dream of.	Amongst so many gifts that he gave me as a child, I remember the car that turned round by itself when it reached the edge of the table. It was rare for a girl to be given a car and I loved it. Later, the gift that was one of the most wonderful presents I’ve ever received and which was to become the bane of my parents’ lives was a transistor radio.	I took Ron's trannie to school and got into trouble there. I listened to it under the bedclothes until past midnight and eventually my father confiscated it. This led me into a break and enter job on the drawer where I thought it was hidden. I managed to break the lock on the drawer, but unfortunately the radio was not there. (Oh no.) I did eventually get it back…..
Ron never married. We heard a rumour that there was once a girl he really liked, a nurse, but she lived in London, which was a long way off in those days. The distance was too much and the romance didn’t get chance to blossom. Ron lived first with his family and then alone for the rest of his life, but he was cheerful, self sufficient, had good friends and many interests. I never heard him moan or complain, not once in a lifetime.	Bretby NCB Research Institution was where Ron spent most of his working life. He worked as a bookkeeper/clerk. At Bretby he wrote funny poems about his work, about how numbers had a mind of their own and stuff like that. He enjoyed working there, not only because he found the work satisfying but because he liked both bosses and colleagues. They became his friends and his working life was a pleasure to him.	Ron’s sense of humour was a key part of his character. It was with him right to the end. On the very last day of his life in Burton Hospital, he was still making jokes and smiling. In A&E we asked the doctor how he was, and the doctor replied that he wasn’t too good, that he’d had a heart attack, that his kidneys were only functioning at half strength and that there were problems with his blood. Ron smiled and commented that he supposed he’d have to cut down on the galloping about for a bit.	Ron’s father, another gentle soul with a nice smile, died in his early 60s. He’d gone to choir practice and in the middle of Hark the Herald Angels Sing collapsed and died, so Ron and his mother were left to fend for themselves. At a later time, Ron’s mother, a lively, generous woman, fell ill, and Ron cared for her until she, too, passed away.
Music was one of Ron’s pleasures. He loved listening to classical music and in the last couple of years was an avid Classic FM listener. He liked playing, too, and singing. He was a past master on the tin whistle which unfortunately only seemed to see the light of day at Christmas. In Fields Lane, where he visited each week, we would sing together in the kitchen while cooking, or Ron would hum a tune and ask if we knew it. Most afternoons Ron spent listening to music while he got on with his tasks.	Ron kept in touch with friends by weekly visits and phone calls. It was said you could set your watch by the time he arrived or rang. Every week, as well as others, Ron visited the Faulkner family, Ray, Hilary and Jane. They were longtime friends and Ron often talked about them. He made phone calls, too, such as the Monday evening call to Rene Milnes, my auntie. She told me that she would always get everything done ready for the Monday evening chat to Ron. Monday evenings will not be the same now that Ron’s gone.	Ron had many interests. He read a good deal, mainly non-fiction. He liked the National Geographic. Ron liked taking photographs although he never quite reached the digital age. He would go on long local walks to take photographs to record changes over the years. It tied in with his love of local history. He was always busy and content, always had something interesting to report. He liked watching films, too, cowboy films with John Wayne or detective films. He liked Sherlock Holmes, Taggart, Midsomer Murders, Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Foyles War and especially Morse in whose crossword footsteps Ron trod.	Ron was a giver, a quiet giver. I spoke to his dear friends in Australia, Ross and Josie and they told me how Ron had insisted on paying their hotel bill when they came to visit him last year. Others, too, told about how he always sent this and that person a cheque or helped when they needed it. He gave money and presents with a generosity that was quite extraordinary. Most notably we found out since his death that each month he gave away most of his modest income. He gave to charities and to support local projects like The Magic Attic and the National Forest. He never talked about how much he gave away.
Ron gave not only money, he gave his time. I’ve lost track of how many people he visited in hospital or rest homes. He visited my mother every day for 9 months while she was ill. There have been so many. He has faithfully visited all his friends and neighbours as they became old and ill.	Ron was always kind and considerate. He gave to all, both to those he knew and to those he didn't. If you happened to mention you needed something, he’d go home and find it for you (or buy it for you), dropping it off as though it were nothing.	Ron achieved much in his life. He did well at school. He did well at work. He was a Governor for the Lifeboats Charity and they have sent a special condolence message. He was a longterm supporter of Leukaemia Research, Charity for Deaf Children, The British Red Cross and The Gurkhas.	Most of all Ron was a South Derbyshire man, proud of where he came from. He loved the lingo and loved the local history. He was a quiet giver and an inspiration to us all. He leaves us so much richer for having known him. We shall never forget him. Angie Phillip 18.01.2011