Eulogy by his son Mark at the funeral in St. Wilfrid's Church on 22 March 1999.

I would just like to say a few words about my father who was born in April 1943. His early life was spent in the London Boroughs of Wembley and later on in Hampstead. From there he lived in Surrey before finally settling down here in Bognor.

Throughout his life Dad has known many people from many walks of life, from his early days as an estate agent to more recent times. Some of my earliest memories of him are of him driving off in his estate car to take Polaroid pictures of flats and houses to put in the Estate Agents window. It seemed to me a s a young child that whenever he went out in his car he knew just about everybody in the street. In retrospect, I think that the figure of my father wearing his sheepskin jacket and old briefcase were so instantly recognisable that everyone in the street did know him!

This was perhaps one of the most striking things about my father, his ability to charm everyone he met. There can be few people who have come into contact with dad who will not have there own John Curtis story. Dad was one of those people who could turn his hand to anything. In his time he has tried his hand at painting, printing, sailing, model aircraft and computers.

For many years he was part of the Bognor Regis Amateur Theatrical Society (BRATS) and played the lead roles in many of their productions. I have fond memories of him appearing in such plays as “See How They Run” and “Boeing Boeing”. For awhile Dad served on the Parish Council and later years on the Police Committee. He always believed in getting involved and was driven by a desire to contribute to his community. No-one can disagree that he did have an impact on Bognor.

More recently his main energies had been directed to the running of the 11th Bognor Scout Group. He was very proud of his achievements of the scouts and would often talk about upcoming events and past activities. He would be so proud to see so many of them here today.

Dad was a controversial person. His habit of upsetting people was matched only by his ability to make amends with them. Many people here today will have felt his wrath at some time or another. This being said he always acted in a way that he felt to be correct. When I think of my father I think of a man who is responsible for so much of what I am today, both good and bad. I have inherited from him his fascination with toys and gadgets. This has lead me to pursue a career in computing.
Whilst we didn’t often agree on many things, I feel we both shared a similar sense of humour and the ability to see the funny side of life.

My brothers, sister and I all possess elements of our father, and in this respect he will continue to live on through us. He will also live on through all the people and things that he has influenced during his life, and he did influence so very much. I think I speak for everyone here when I say Dad, we will all miss you.

Mark Curtis