Keith Simpson

In fond and loving memory of a dear, wonderful man.
Elizabeth, Catherine and Paul

Dad, this is a photo of your good friend John standing next to a Trophy Board at the Golf Club showing that you won the Chamberlain Cup 3 years in a row. Love Chris

Eulogy / Tribute:

I would like to begin by thanking Fr Chris for his help and preparation for today and Catherine Christmas for her beautiful music and all of you for coming here today..I would also like to thank our family in Swindon, who my Dad affectionately referred to as The Spice Girls and our family from Ireeland who aare tuning in to our streamed mass today. Thank you also to the people of Our Lady of Sorrows and our friends in Bognor for the special support and love extended to my mother and my brother Chris. We have been overwhelmed by all the prayers, Mass intentions and cards we have received.

Dad was not a church goer. However, it is more than appropriate to celebrate his life in this church today because he was extremely Christian in his behaviour and actions towards other people especially his family and friends.

Keith was born on 30 January 1942 at his grandparents’s home in Ross on Wye. He went to the local village school where his grandfather was headmaster. He was born into a practising Anglican family.

After the war, the family moved back to London where Keith won a scholarship to the de la Salle Catholic college. Keith excelled in Maths and the Sciences and after leaving school studied privately and gained a degree in Physics and Chemistry.

Bernadette and Keith met at the British Oxygen Company and were married in 1964 at St Anne’s church on Kingston Hill. They had three sons Anthony, Michael and Christopher. Keith always supported Bernadette and their boys in the practise of their faith.

In 1962 Keith joined the British Oxygen Company as a research assistant where he started his long career in Respiratory Protection. He worked with several companies in the design and manufacture of breathing apparatus and respirators. He had a long association with the Government research establishment at Porton Down designing and developing suits and equipment for protection against viruses such as Sars and Ebola. He presented scientific papers and co-wrote a book on Respiratory Protection. He worked internationally and represented the uk on European Standards Committees. He was very inventive possessing a number of patents. He had the quite remarkable combination of having a very deep technical understanding and the ability to convert such understanding into simple practical solutions which very often other people would not have thought of in a million years.

Dad struggled to appreciate many of the arts . For example he accompanied the family to a ballet production of  The Nutcracker and fell  asleep during the performance.

Keith was very close to his brother in law Frank. They enjoyed working together on family projects such as turning two rooms into one by installing a steel girder without the house falling down around them, or installing all of the plasterboard walls and ceilings as part of probably his biggest project in building a new family home in Farnham. I think one of the key phrases that was formed during these projects was “Measure Twice, Cut Once” which I understand has since become the company motto of my brother Michael’s carpentry business. Their friendship also led to the creation of their most famous venture, F+K Motors which serviced and repaired various family cars. In short Dad really loved to help the family and his friends giving his time and effort to solve their various problems.

He was very fond of Frank and Sheila’s daughter, his niece Catherine. She affectionately called him “Special K”.

For sure Dad´s Eulogy would not be complete without mentioning his love of the sport Golf and the friendship that he enjoyed with his golfing buddies. Mum, Dad and Chris moved to Felpham / Bognor Regis area 18 years ago after considering several options. I am pretty sure that one of the major things that “swung it” for Felpham was the fact that their house is located next door to Bognor Regis Golf Club. He has enjoyed playing there about two to three times per week during that time. I am sure that there are many anecdotes from my father that his golfing buddies may well share with us later at the Golf Club today.

I also cannot finish without mentioning the wonderful relationship that my Mum and dad enjoyed together. They really were a good team and can be very proud of all of what they have achieved. For sure my mum and all of us will miss this wonderful lovely man very dearly.

We think that Jean Giono in his quote “The Man who planted Trees” describes Dad’s Christian spirit in everything that he did for others always putting others before himself:
“For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain that there is no thought of recompense and that in addition, it has left its visible mark upon earth, then there can be no mistake”.
 
 

We got to know Keith as a warm, open and humorous person full of joie de vivre. He will continue to be with us in our minds.