Brian Emlyn Protheroe

Brian was born in Llwynypia in the Rhondda Valley on 28^th  September 1936 to Thomas and Laura, becoming older brother to Margaret.

He lived in Glandwr Terrace, two doors away from Wilfred and Olive and daughters, Barbara and Anthea. Barbara and Brian have known each other all their lives.

Aside from learning to play piano in his formative days, Brian used to enjoy walking up ‘the mountain’ as they called the side of the valley, and Brian and the local children enjoyed sliding down the slopes on cardboard and tin trays.

Brian studied Physics at Swansea University, making a lifelong friend of Tony Rees, later to become his best man.  Brian, Tony and their friends made the best of their time, often going for a midnight paddle at the beach.  Brian took up Athletics with the hurdles and long jump and also playing rugby on occasion, remaining a lifelong watcher of the Wales team in the 5-Nations.

Tony took Brian on a pub crawl to celebrate his engagement to Barbara and presented him with a set of 6 glasses they had acquired at one bar which Brian secreted in his jacket – unfortunately only two of these glasses survived his tumble down the steps of the bus that night but they both lasted many more years.

Brian and Barbara married in the Parish church in Llwynypia on 8^th August 1959 and soon after, Brian moved to Dudley to become the first male teacher at Dudley Girls High School in 1959 as physics teacher to sixth-form girls only three years his junior.  The rarity of a male teacher meant that in the early days, the younger girls used to follow Brian and Barbara around Woolworths, ducking down behind counters so that only the blue hats of their uniforms were visible before emerging giggling and saying “Hello, Sir!”. He went on to be a well-respected teacher with many pupils writing thank you notes on passing their exams and entering university. 

Barbara joined him when they bought the family home in Dibdale Road in 1960 with its long garden which was to become his pride and joy over the years. Neighbours Margaret and Cyril and daughters Pam and Val greeted them with cups of tea and they became firm friends from that day.

Sons Jeffrey and Simon came along in 1962 and 1966 respectively and Brian took pride in helping them both to learn to read and write and often made new toys from pieces of wood to aid their play and learning. They both acquired their fondness for gardening from Brian and their gardens still contain many plants grown from cuttings provided by Brian.

Brian also had an affection for animals from the first family pet, Toby the dog to a succession of cats.  Brian loved to feed the birds, squirrels and foxes that came into the garden, though he was less enamoured with the badger that dug in his lawn and even smashed its way into his beloved greenhouse causing carnage.

Having saved up for their first car, Brian and the family went on many happy holidays in Devon and North Wales as well as trips back home to the Rhondda. Brian always enjoyed the sun, whether on holiday or just in the back garden, taking on a deep tan every year.  Barbara and Brian ventured overseas, sometimes in the company of Barbara’s sister Anthea and husband Terry, enjoying holidays in the Mediterranean where Brian enjoyed the sun and sometimes the local food, though his tastes remained fairly conservative. 

One of his food related foibles was that he would never eat cheese in any form after watching a science documentary on TV which showed microscopic cheese weevils!

Following on from father-in-law Wilfred, Brian joined the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes otherwise known as The Buffs, taking part in many of their charitable works and rising through the ranks to become Secretary of the King George V chapter.

Along with friends Anne and Gordon, Brian and Barbara took up dancing and attended many social dance events across the Black Country making many friends who always marvelled at the Welsh accents they both retained long after leaving the valleys behind.

Brian and Barbara enjoyed the music of the big bands and went to concerts by the James Last and Syd Lawrence orchestras and often the Treorchy Male Voice Choir when they performed in Dudley.

Brian was always proud of his two sons and was overjoyed when Jeff married Chris in 2000 and Simon married Verity in 2005 giving Barbara and Brian two much-loved daughters.

As his boys grew and left home, Brian took pride in providing extra tuition at home which he later extended to neighbours Bev and Craig and son Ben with play including demonstrations of science whenever he could. 

Brian always had time for everyone and was always keen to help out those in need whenever he could, including helping to maintain the gardens of neighbours, giving Jeffrey lifts to concerts and Simon lifts to work.

At the age of 58, Brian suffered a small stroke which led to him taking up an early retirement package from the Dudley School.  He kept his hand in by doing some supply teaching but soon decided it was time to enjoy retirement.

Brian continued to tend his garden, especially proud of the red rose in the front garden, many visitors were presented with rose stems so that he could share the joy this brought him - those here today have been given a red rose as a memento.

Brian’s health started to deteriorate with arthritis which later affected his mobility.  His mind stayed sharp and he enjoyed reading thriller novels and completing Sudoku puzzles. Barbara started to notice the first signs of memory loss and in 2017 he was diagnosed with vascular dementia, thought to be related to the stroke from 20-years earlier.  As his dementia progressed Barbara enlisted the help of visiting carers to provide more of the care that he needed.  He developed a good relationship with Debbie and started to sing little songs from his childhood days as she helped him dress and wash.  He even learnt how to make noises like a foghorn and told her he was going to teach to the kids how to make funny noises!

We'll miss the sparkle in his eye when he said or did something naughty, his dry humour and his infinite kindness.  Brian will always remain in our hearts as a considerate, caring and loving person .

We are going to plant a new red rose bush in his garden in remembrance.

Thank you for visiting my Justgiving page. I have decided to raise money in memory to help more families get the specialist dementia support that they desperately need. Dementia UK's Admiral Nurses work alongside people with dementia, and their families: giving them one-to-one support, expert guidance and practical solutions. The unique dementia expertise an Admiral Nurse brings is a lifeline. It helps families to live more positively with dementia in the present, and to face the challenges of tomorrow with more confidence and less fear.Thank you so much for helping pay tribute to my loved-one by helping other families facing dementia.