OSAmag81

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 8 1
1959 was heavily involved in the merger
with Cow & Gate. In 1960 he became
Group Accountant of the newly formed
company, Unigate. Various promotions
followed and culminated in his
appointment as Unigate Company
Secretary in 1975, a position he held until
his retirement in 1983.
During the 60s, 70s and 80s George and
Mollie started to travel abroad for holidays.
They preferred very hot Mediterranean
locations especially the Greek islands, in
particular Antipaxos where they went for
many years. They also travelled to the
United States to stay with tennis club
friends who had moved there. Some of the
antics that they got up to whilst there are
probably best not to be aired, just to say
that George was almost arrested for
consorting with a hooker who in fact
turned out to be his own wife! In 1973
George became a grandfather at the
ridiculously young age of 49 and was
chuffed to bits to welcome his
granddaughter Teresa into the world.
George was a very keen gardener and
loved walking especially with the three
dogs he and Mollie owned over a number
of years. In 1998 it was becoming apparent
that George required a replacement hip
but before this happened he had his third
brush with death when he suffered a
pulmonary embolism in his lung. He was
rushed to Barnet General where prompt
action saved his life. Six months later he
had recovered sufficiently to enable him to
have that replacement hip from which he
unfortunately took a long time to recover.
In 2004 his beloved Mollie suffered a fall
and broke her hip. They were however,
able to celebrate their diamond wedding
anniversary together, albeit round her bed
in Finchley Memorial Hospital. Sadly 6
months after that she died. George decided
that he wished to remain living in the
home he and Mollie had shared and there
he stayed until October 2011. During this
period his great-granddaughters were
born, Evie in 2007 and Molly 2009, yes
another Molly and nothing gave him more
pleasure than to have them visit their
Grampy in Totteridge. By then it had
become apparent to George that he was no
longer able to fully look after himself and
he asked to come and live with Lyn and
Mike in Marlow.
This he duly did for almost 2 years before
sadly he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
As his illness grew worse it became clear
that he needed more specialist care than
Lyn and Mike could provide, so a place was
found for him at Sir Aubrey Ward House, a
Back row: John Hudson; ?Name; Gary Dayton; Bill
Mountford: Robbie Robertson;George Cotterell; Joe
Johnson. Front Row: John Taylor ;Frank Tree; Peter
Bullen; Eric Van Emden; Frank Abbott.
care home in Marlow and this is where
George spent the final 15 months of his life.
All the family would visit George frequently
and he loved all the drawings and notes that
Evie and Molly would make for him. These
he kept in his room and during their visits
he would always open up his biscuit tin for
them or give them a chocolate or two from
his bottom drawer. It was also lovely that
some of his former friends from Totteridge
would visit him from time to time even
though George’s Alzheimer’s must have
made these visits very difficult for them. As
this terrible debilitating illness progressed
he became more and more insular, rarely
leaving his room except at mealtimes.
However, he remained extremely cheerful
and content in his own little world. This was
a blessing and a great comfort to those who
loved him. The end came suddenly and he
did not suffer for which his family will be
eternally grateful. George was a kind and
generous man a true gentleman especially to
the people he cared for most. He was a
loving husband, father, grandfather and
great-grandfather.
He will be greatly missed.
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