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OBITUARIES 55

JOHN DOYLE

OLD RATCLIFFIAN 1956 - 1962
DECEMBER 27TH 1943 - JUNE 24TH 2016

Born during the War on December 27th 1943, the late John
Doyle was raised in Stockport, Manchester, as the second
son to May and Walter, some ten years after his brother, Ian.
In that time, their working-class family had grown into some
modest prosperity, and by the time John had reached the age
of 7, Walter’s business success afforded them the opportunity
to send him to public school - a decision that would shape the
young boy’s future indelibly.

As a boarder at Grace Dieu, John seldom saw his family, and
although as a man, he rarely spoke of this time (and rarer spoke
ill of it), undoubtedly, it had been a harsh experience. However
‘character building’ it may have been, John’s parents were
devoted and ambitious for their second son, and in 1956, John’s
life at Ratcliffe College began.

A few months before John’s death, he visited the College and
was filled with memories of his ‘happiest years’. Throughout his
Ratcliffe career, he relished the wealth of activities on offer, from
sailing to rowing, and the occasional sojourn to the local pub!
John embraced the breadth of opportunities wholeheartedly, marriage lasting for over 46 years. They raised four children:
forming a considerable library of skills which he would continue Simon (born in 1972), Tim (1976), David (1982), and Lucy (a late
to use and develop in later life. Inspired by the College’s rich arrival in 1992). The family enjoyed a comfortable and stable life
history, strong faith and mentors, such as Fr Walters, his appetite in Sway and New Milton in the New Forest.
to learn and to apply an almost insatiable energy never dwindled
– a quality that his family and friends would consistently be
surprised and inspired by in equal measure. Throughout his life, John’s energy pushed him from project
to project, from pioneering (homemade) hang glider flights in
the 1970s to a succession of self-build endeavours, including
John left Ratcliffe in 1962, and after a couple of faltering house extensions, shed-made fireworks, and even a hand-
academic avenues had been abandoned, he settled into a degree carved double bed. John’s knowledge, energy and enthusiasm
at Newcastle to study Dentistry from 1965 to 1970. His parents never waned, even after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkins
were delighted – their generous investment had paid off.
lymphoma in 2006.
Soon into his second year, in the summer of 1966, John met Over ten years, John enjoyed periods of good health, but he
Susan Gelder, a local Northumbrian English undergraduate.
Their backgrounds were similar, both being working-class, first- also endured the painful side effects of a range of cancer
treatments. In a few years, he conquered the non-Hodgkins, but
generation university students whose parents’ businesses had
done well. Not long after graduating in 1970, they were married then contracted a slower form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma; this was
relatively controllable until, in 2014, a third cancer (of the bowel)
at Stapehill Convent Chapel in Wimborne. Soon after that, John
found his first job as a dentist, for the rather disconcertingly complicated his treatments and ultimately ended his battle.
named Dr Brendan Blood of Taunton. It was to be the start of
a long and hardworking career as an NHS dentist. John built up John dealt with his prognoses with dignity and by keeping
(quite literally, in bricks and mortar) his first practice in 1976 in active, continuing to work on his ‘projects’. In this period, his
the small, working-class village of Holbury, near Southampton, woodwork skills helped to craft a handmade greenhouse and
and worked there for 17 years. A staunch socialist at heart, John garden workshop. When he wasn’t in his greenhouse or on the
believed passionately in the NHS, and he committed his career to allotment, he found great comfort in the Church, which had been
providing dental care under its banner until he retired in 2001. a constant source of strength throughout his life.
This was followed by occasional NHS locum contracts until 2004,
when he retired in earnest. A highly capable man, completely devoted to his family and
career in dentistry, John leaves a void in his family and friends’
Married life outlasted work, and Susan and John shared many lives and will be truly missed.
interests, despite occupying opposing academic strata (Science
and Arts), which was perhaps a contributing factor in their John’s Family

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