Thanks for taking the time to visit Frank's page. He passed away peacefully with his family beside him on 14th February 2021 aged 83, having survived numerous strokes as a result of undergoing a heart bypass operation over 4 years ago. Rather than flowers, the family would therefore prefer friends to donate to the Stroke Association.

Frank was a gentle, loving man who made friends wherever he went. His upbringing led to him always having a 'glass-half-full' philosophy - all he needed was his family and friends to share his life with, to laugh together, to drink together, to eat together and to go away on holiday together. But he was also a fighter throughout his life, which is why he lasted so long when others would have given up years ago.  He’ll be missed by his wife, his three children and his 6 grandchildren, all of whom he adored.

The funeral was on 18th March, but numbers were limited due to Covid. We're aware that not many of you were able to make the funeral, so we thought this might be an alternative means of showing your respects.

Frank Haddleton was born on Friday the 14^th May 1937, and passed away peacefully 83 years later. For 61 of those years he was married to Jessie. He had a really great life, but he went through some tough times too:

• He was one of 5 children, including his twin sister, but the only one to survive the first few days of life, probably due to the desperate conditions in which his parents, Frank and Ivy, lived during the Great Depression;
• And he himself almost died aged 6 months, when he contracted meningitis;
• Such was the poverty while he was growing up, he was regularly pawned by his mom on a Friday, and then bought back again when his dad was paid later that day. Luckily, the pawnbroker was nice, and liked him;
• More recently, he cheated death about 10 years ago when his aorta burst whilst on his way into the operating theatre. Not many people survive that;
• And no-one knows how he managed to survive the 15-odd strokes he had 4 years ago when his heart bypass operation went horribly wrong.

The truth is he was always a fighter, and his experiences also explain why he was always a ‘glass half full’ man. He never fretted about little things going wrong and instead he always focussed on the positive things in life, because he was always so thankful to be alive and for what he had. He’d probably laugh at us today, getting upset when the wifi is down or because a virus means we have to stay at home. Even if things are bad, he’d want us to know that you need those bad times to appreciate the good times that follow.

And he never needed the finer things in life, either. All he needed was his family and his friends to share his life with, to laugh together, to drink together, to eat together and to go away on holiday together.

But he’s also had such an interesting life:

• Although he was an only child, he was brought up in the extended family of the back-to-back terraces of Birmingham, where his cousins and other families all played in the same communal yard;
• He was brought up with a menagerie of animals, including several dogs, cats, chickens, mice, rabbits, ducks and even a goat! And he was well known locally as the boy who’s 2 ducks and goat followed him to School every day;
• He was one of the last people to do National Service with the army, spending most of it in Germany and drinking lots of German beer while he was there, by the look of the photos!
• He was a good sportsman, who played amateur football, and also got signed up by Warwickshire County Cricket Club. But he only managed to play for their 2^nd team before he decided to focus on his career as a draughtsman instead;
• And that career lasted almost 50 years with the same company, Widney, starting as an apprentice and teaboy at 14 and ending up as their engineering director. He was a loyal 1-company man, who was liked and well-respected by his colleagues. He travelled all over the world as part of that career, including the United States, Canada, Japan and various parts of Europe. He said he didn’t like the travel, but he loved it.

So he had a varied and interesting life, despite being a stay-at-home man who was happiest being surrounded by family and friends. His family of course were the biggest love in his life, because when he was a child his parents made him the centre of their attention:

• He doted over his 6 grandchildren, taking every opportunity to play with them or send them Valentine’s cards or sing them a song or make them laugh;
• And the same for his 3 children, Jo, Nick and myself, who stretched his patience to its limits as they grew up. There was nothing he enjoyed more than sitting at the dining table with them, eating, drinking and reminiscing for hours on end. They used to love his stories;
• And of course his wife Jessie. They spent 61 married years together, and were inseparable for all of that time apart from when he was in hospital. Their love for each other was obvious, and most people could only dream of being so happy with someone for so long.

His grandchildren were asked what they remembered their grandad for, and here are their fondest memories:

• For telling Amelia he loved her to the moon and back;
• For the tomatoes Max took back from grandad’s greenhouse;
• For Catherine, walking to the woods with grandad and Charlie and feeding the horses and sheep;
• For playing cricket with Harry;
• For Jamie, his wonderful cooked breakfasts;
• And for saying “let’s see them muscles” to Edward

All memories that will live on in their hearts, way after the pain has gone.

So what’s he been doing since he arrived up there?

• The first thing he’ll have done is to visit his mom and dad, to check they’re OK and catch up on things. He was their sunshine, and they’ll have missed him these last 40 years.
• And next he’d have taken his dogs for a walk, one of his favourite things in the world to do and something he really missed in the past few years when he was bedbound. And not just Charlie, but all the dogs he’s ever had - Benny, Peggy, Lassie, Butch and Bessie too.
• And after a nice relaxing walk, he’ll have gone and checked out the local bar, where he knows he’ll find his drinking mate Mick, and his two brothers-in-law Howard and Nick and father-in-law Howard. And they’ll talk for hours over a few pints about all the great times they’ve had together
• And it wouldn’t be a surprise if his 2 ducks and his goat follow him to the pub as well, just like they used to!
• And finally he’ll search for a little garden somewhere that needs a bit of work on it, and he’ll get working on making that into something spectacular just like his old garden, and he’ll love the fact that there’s no frosts up there.
• He’ll keep himself busy, but all the time he’ll be keeping an eye on us down here, making sure we’re OK and giving us some invisible strength in our hours of need.