John Michael Griffith-Jones (Thirlestaine, 1961)

The following is an abridged version of the eulogy delivered by John’s daughter at his memorial service.

My father was always more of a listener than a talker. In fact, if you had to assign him a ‘superpower’ then I would say that was it. He learnt through listening, and if he wasn’t listening then he was reading. He had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, which amongst other things made him an extremely formidable opponent in scrabble!

Born in Cheltenham to Beryl and Charles he later attended Cheltenham College, where his love of academia blossomed. Whilst he rarely talked about his own life, he studied hard and fully applied himself to whatever challenge was presented. 

During his childhood he and his brother Christopher spent many happy holidays staying with their Aunt Mary and Uncle Jack at their farm in Warwickshire. When Mary passed away and an area of this glorious estate became a designated charitable nature reserve – called ‘The Neal Trust’ – he joined both his brother and myself as a trustee. It was a place that was dear to his heart and somewhere he had run so freely as a child.

From Cheltenham he headed to St Johns College, Oxford to pursue his love of history. There he formed friendships that remained with him to the end of his days. 

Not content with ending his academic studies here, whilst he was working as a town planner on the development of Milton Keynes, he went on to obtain a Masters from The London School of Economics. He was awarded a Fellowship from the English Speaking Union to complete his MBA at Indiana University so, just two days after their wedding, my parents left the Isle of Mull to catch their flight across the pond.

He returned to the UK to join the firm McKinseys as a management consultant, and my parents set up home in Blackheath, London. Shortly after I was born, we headed off for my father’s first overseas assignment to Dar Es Salaam, in Tanzania.

It was whilst living in Tanzania that my father discovered the world of philately. Through the medium of stamps he was able to further indulge his love of historical research. Years of dedication eventually resulted in the achievement of top International philatelic awards culminating in his book The Postage Dues of Zanzibar. He was a key player in The East Africa Study Circle. Towards the end of his life my father was working on his PhD, which he so very nearly completed. Needless to say, his subject was his beloved stamps!

After McKinseys my father ventured into self-employment and was involved in the set up of Data Harvest. It was at this time that he met his second wife, Angela, who inspired in him his true devotion to the Christian Faith. When Angela’s life was tragically cut short, he channelled his energies into fundraising which enabled churches and schools to be built in remote villages near Angela’s home city of Madras, now Chennai. These continue to thrive. 

My father later moved back to the world of employment and joined the law firm that is now Dentons, as Advisor to the Board.

Reading the kind letters and emails about my father, the words that have appeared again and again are: kind, gentle, warm, devoted, loving, intelligent, humble, resilient, remarkable.

He passed away on St Georges day, which feels apt. Only hours beforehand it would have been the day of the London Marathon which would also have been fitting given that he ran it twice, the second time aged 70. But St Georges Day it was. ‘Unleash the power within you, and you shall conquer every dragon on your path.’ He really gave life his all and will be sorely missed by all those who were fortunate enough to have known him.

John is survived by his partner Sharon Lesk, daughter Sarah Rutherford, granddaughters Abby and Rosie, and half-sister, Susie Griffith-Jones. 

All who knew John were invited to attend his memorial service at Chelsea Old Church on Wednesday 22 May 2024, 2pm. 

The livestream of John's memorial service can be viewed for a year after the service, via the link below.

funeral-av.co.uk/john-michael-griffith-jones-wednesday-22nd-may-2024