[This is the text of my eulogy for Denis]
Many thanks to those of you who have spoken about Denis – we have a picture of a man of many talents, and I will recap four of them. Had there been a campaign for de-geeking engineering, Denis would have made a brilliant choice of poster boy - knowing his subject – yes; shy
& awkward - absolutely not!
Talent 1: Brilliant practical engineer
I’d like to say he only had to lay hands on any malfunctioning electrical or
mechanical apparatus & it would miraculously spring back to life, but I wouldn’t want to upset his Humanist sensibilities. (By the way, Denis, not very humanist to die in Holy Week was it?) Chris will have told you about the Ford Anglia piston replacement during the Reading
course, thereby saving Chris & Sue’s holiday. He did the same
for my Tiger Cub motorbike in 1975, with a day to spare before I needed to
collect my then girlfriend/now wife from Heathrow after a few months
in Nepal. It started first time, in Alan’s kitchen.
Talent 2: Teacher
My relationship with Denis had two phases – the time we shared on VSO
in Sri Lanka, 1971 & 1972 and then the many years back in the UK.
At Hardy Senior Technical Institute, we were colleagues in the
Electrical Engineering Department and shared an office. I remember I
taught the electrical technician students about electrical machines;
50 years later, I have absolutely no recollection what Denis taught
them, but he seemed to do it very well. He was a talented teacher – though he’d had no teaching experience before HSTI, Denis was a natural. We wondered why the students could understand
him better than us, despite his accent. He divulged his secret – he
was having
to speak at half speed to us so we could understand, and used the same cunning tactic for the
students. [At the wake, I learnt from Suresh, an ex-student speaking from Sri Lanka, that this was not the full story! Initially, the
students couldn’t understand him at all! Then he got the ‘half
speed’ idea & all was well.]
He helped teach me to drive – I still remember his advice about
reversing - “Now & again, have a look to see what’s happening
at the front”. If I’d kept to it, I would have damaged fewer
front wings and gate posts.
He taught us a great deal about the conflict in Northern Ireland - the
weekly Guardian would bring us news of the latest outrage.
He expanded my vocabulary – he & I are from opposite sides of the Northern Irish sectarian divide, and he kindly taught me 57 different ways to say "illegitimate person of the Catholic persuasion"
Talent 3: Outstanding bridge partner
Once we were back here, Alan, Chris, Denis & I became monogamous, at
least as far as bridge parters; it was always Electricals vs
Mechanicals. And, though I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead, to
be totally honest, Denis wasn’t especially good at bridge, so we
were well matched. But I will remember the delicious occasions when
he would understand my outlandish bid, and we would actually make the
unlikely contract.
Talent 4: Joie de vivre
A cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit. – thanks Wikipedia. Denis had it in spades! He could be in a wonderfully cheerful and gloriously silly mood after a minimal amount of alcohol. The parties we held for the other VSOs
on the island gave this talent full reign.
Of course, just to reassure everyone, this was 1972, there was no lethal global pandemic, Denis was not the Prime Minister who had made the laws and we were in Sri Lanka not Downing Street.
People mention his wit and sense of humour. I remember having a meal in a
London restaurant in the 70s – as we settled ourselves at the
table, he passed over his suitcase to be put out of the way, and speaking loudly in his best Northern Irish accent, he said “Careful
with that one, it’s primed”. He had so many awful jokes – who could forget “Chickens are going cheep this
week. Well, you didn’t expect them to go bow wow?”
There’s much I haven’t talked about – he was my best man; he had a
wonderful career with BT; his family.
But let’s remember our dear dear friend Denis, and be thankful for having had the pleasure of knowing him.
Raise your glasses – to Denis!
Tim Devereux 29/04/2022
