 |
|
 |
| Obituary |
|
|
|
Graham Hunt-Crowley
Graham Hunt-Crowley
2 September 1946 - 2 May 2104
Graham Iain Hunt Crowley was born in Guildford Sussey on 2nd September 1946,
so he was almost a war baby! Graham was the son of the late John
Hunt-Crowley, a well known Fleet Street journalist, and Gladys Ellen
Hunt-Crowley. He is survived by his only sibling, his Stephanie, who has
lived in Washington DC USA for many years. Stephanie sadly cannot make the
journey, but has been kept well informed of all the preparations made for
her brother.
Graham spent his early childhood in the village of Rusper, near Horsham,
Sussex, which is on the South Coast of England.
He was about 10 years old when they moved to the village of Dadford, near
Buckingham, which is a bit further north. At the age of 17, at the height of
the East/West Cold War with the Russians, he joined the Royal Observer Corps
(a civilian part of the Royal Air force, whose task it was to monitor any
nuclear fallout in the event of a nuclear bomb attack) and was with them for
several years.
After their father died, their mother sold the house in Dadford and they
moved to Wardington, just north of Banbury, near Oxford. And it is there
that Graham made some excellent long term friendships, 3 of whom, John
Harraway, Ben McCabe and David Johnson, were present at the funeral.
It was after the Royal Observer Corps days that he started work at his first
job, which was one that was to last for about 25 years. He had joined Post
Office telephones which became British Telecom. He worked in Oxford and
became assistant to the man who dealt with USAF Upper Heyford and was
responsible for providing communication lines to the fighter jets waiting on
the runway as they did at that time of the Cold War.
His boss died suddenly and they needed someone to take over. Not only was
Graham already trained in telecommunications, but thanks to his involvement
with Royal Observer Corps, he already had the necessary government security
clearance to work on secret equipment. He made good friends with some of the
American servicemen and visited some of them in the US in the mid 1970s -
and travelled from one side of the US to the other using an unlimited
mileage Greyhound bus pass visiting many of his friends - and his sister in
Washington.
While living in Oxford he started working evenings behind the bar at
different pubs in Oxford - and he told his sister why: “I figured that if I
was going to be down at the pub anyway, I might as well be behind the bar
and get paid for it, and not stand in front of it and have to be paying.”
Another thing Graham did while in Oxford - he started a Singles Club, called
Trumps. It started out with weekly get-togethers at a pub, but it grew not
just in the number of members but in activities. They had dinners, movie
nights, picnics, walks along the river, in fact it grew to the point that
there was something going on about every day or night of the year!
He also signed on as an “extra” for movies that were being shot in Oxford -
one of them being The Saint movie starring Val Kilmer, and another where he
played a walk on part in a 17th century movie, wearing thick white wig,
frock coat and gaiters.
He did a lot of World travelling in those years before he actually visited
Thailand. After taking early retirement from BT, he taught computer classes
at a community college and also drove a mini bus for a friend who ran a
travel agency - mostly doing wine runs to France. That was when he had a bar
in his house in Marston almost as well stocked as a pub.
His first trip to Thailand was on the way home from visiting friends in Sri
Lanka in 2003, but the next trip was scheduled to be right after the Tamil
Tigers blew up the Holiday Inn, so he gave up thinking of Sri Lanka and made
Thailand his final longtime destination and home. It was here that he first
became involved with Rotary.
|
|
 |
Graham Hunt Crowley and his life as a passionate and dedicated Rotarian
Many friends turned up to say their final goodbyes
at Graham’s funeral on Sunday, May 11.
by Past President Jan Abbink, Rotary Club of
Jomtien-Pattaya
Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard
When I joined RCJP in 2004 Graham was already a member - so I have known him for
about 10 years. I would not claim that I knew him very well or that he was a
close friend of mine as he was quite a private person. But like many others I
liked him and respected him.
Although he had a big network of contacts, he would spend most of the day and
sometimes late at night on the computer - which he lovingly called his “wife”.
In the evenings, if not attending a Rotary event, he could be found at his
second home the “Buffalo Bar”. “Fon Tok” (Falling Rain) was his nickname amongst
the girls and he was well liked. Graham’s hobby was photography and he would
take nice pictures of the ladies which they could send to their boyfriends. This
was before the advent of smart phones and social media!
Graham was a hard worker and would always offer to help out anyone. His biggest
claim to fame was (with fellow Rotarian Simon Simms) initiating and organizing
the first annual Cross Bay Swim in 2004 - which soon became one of the most
successful fundraisers in Pattaya. The proceeds of the first 3 swims went to the
Baan Jing Jai orphanage but they were not just donated. Every couple of months
Graham would take some of the kids and caretakers with his pickup to go shopping
at Tesco Lotus.
Graham held a high attendance record, not only at his own club. He also attended
a many district conferences, seminars and assemblies. He was always present at
events organized by other clubs. When on holiday in the Philippines he would
visit local Rotary Clubs. As mentioned, photography was his hobby and I still
have a pile of CD’s at home of pictures he had taken at meetings, events and
projects. If you would speak with him on a topic he was passionate about, only
then you would realise how knowledgeable and intelligent Graham was - at times
it was difficult to follow his train of thought. And he had a witty sense of
humour – not always understood by all…
Unfortunately Graham was hindered by his physical disabilities. He suffered from
various mostly allergy related ailments. He could hardly order anything from the
menu, no seafood, no chicken, no dairy products, not even a fried rice if it was
prepared with fish sauce. More recently he developed heart problems and had a
relapse of asthma. At times he would take on more than he could handle and would
then have to throw the towel. Consequently I had to take over the organising of
the Cross Bay Swims in 2007 & 2008. But I could always call him for advice and
draw on his experience. And who would be there on the day itself working his
“butt” off to make the event a success? Graham!
He finally became president of the club where he had been a valued member for
over a decade. As always he set high goals and objectives to achieve. Once again
he had to throw the towel but sadly there will be no comeback this time. Graham,
you were a good lad with a heart of gold!
May you Rest in Peace.
|
|
Ann Harrington
Ann Harrington, long time wife of Ian, passed away Sunday,
May 11, after a short battle with cancer.
The cremation will take place Sunday 18th May at +/- 15:00 hrs. at Wat
Keowbunmeedararam a few clicks down Huay Yai Road (pass the floating market on
Sukhumvit & turn left at the traffic lights - see map).
Our thoughts & prayers are with Ian and Ann’s family.
|
|
 |
|
|
