Ronald Edmund Rackett (27 Mar 1934 - 31 Mar 2016)

In loving memory of Ronald Edmond Rackett who sadly passed away on 31st March 2016
What can i say !!!   Eulogy for Ron or Ronnie Rackett

As a /husband 
He was absolutely devoted to Mary , this was a true love match , meeting as sweethearts, dancing at Ventnor Winter Gardens in the early fifties  and then marrying in their early twenties . Everything they did as a couple was to work hard, but always having time and patience for their family which include their parents and then their children Chris and Caroline . 

They had many adventures travelling around the globe to far flung places such as Masirah in Oman and Ascension island in association with Ron's job as Senior Transmitter Engineer in the BBC . they had joint interests
 such as holidaying and support of the RNLI but they had the confidence and support of each other to pursue their own interests and hobbies as well. You always got the sense of them been best friends as well as devoted husband and wife.  

As a Dad/Granddad 
He was absolutely the best, despite working hard and often been away from the Isle of Wight with engineering duties, once back with the family he devoted most of his leisure time to us. he was patient, kind very rarely raised his voice., although 1 raised finger would be our warning sign not to push any harder !!!! Throughout our childhood he would devote hours to projects to encourage our creativity and sporting activities , supporting us on the football and hockey pitches, transporting us to various clubs and events. His love of cars shone through and all the seventies classics came our way from the tiny Hillman Imp in 1972 that took all 4 of us on a touring holiday of the West Country to the beast of the Vauxhall Viva that held lots of kit that came with his work, and useful for SeaScout Camping trips at Easter. Best of all though in !976 he bought a vinyl soft top blue Capri which Chris and I thought was so cool ......... How gutted were we when he traded it in two years later for a practical Ford Cortina .......   

The best purchase that he ever made though was in 1972 when the whole family visited a farm and came home with an adorable 3 month beagle puppy, Typical dad though , planning of dog walking rota s and care of Cindy was a family commitment and non negotiable. 

Dad was great one for planning and preparation, especially in regard to decorating projects and house re furbishment  !!!  he had amazing skills throughout his life in been able to restore extra life into gadgets and technology. Hoovers were restored ,music systems back to new !!!  No dust collecting on his Reader's Digest DIY manual!!!! in fact I m sure he must have been able to write his own.  Mum would later tell that the wondrous dolls house that i got for my 4th birthday was a result of night after night of patient development and construction  after my bedtime, painstaking detail resulting in tiled roof, secret rooms and an attic that opened up. The hours of joy and memories that have remained with me were due to his love and diligence.   Ronnie's shed throughout his long life was a source of wonder and restoration for his friends, children and then his grand children.  As long as he had a regular source of tea and music always , he was happy ....... 

The joy of having grandchildren made my parents life complete, they adored the holidays that Charlotte and Letitia spent with them, and the biggest asset that they gave them was time , time to play cards, garden,  travel, days out, and talking...   

As a friend 
Dad was one of the most relaxed and friendly people I ve known , he would love to have conversations with anyone , young or old , he had his own views but was always happy to consider new ideas. He loved debating with friends such as Cliff, Rosemary, Russ and Rubes , he had friends within his engineering /modelling clubs and at the RNLI.  His closest friend though was Clive his colleague form the BBC , since the early seventies, every other Sunday evening they would phone each other for catch up of old times , Clive I know will greater miss Ron.  Everyone would recognise that he was generous , especially with his time and would often help friends out in very practical ways such repairing and mending. He also loved having young people around and would always gravitate to the friends of Chris, Caroline and Andy for a good catch up and laugh.  He adored Ness and Lena as they shared his wicked sense of humour 

Hobbies and Interests 

There really were not enough hours in the day for Dad to pursue his many hobbies and Interests , but here goes 

Travel around the UK, Europe and further afield , studying of maps and journeys was always thought out beforehand (Planning and preparation again!!!) 

Sailing and yachting, both physically by crewing with the Tall Ships association and a leader with the Sea scouts, regularly taking out  dingy"s  to his love of designing and building his own models boats and barges. 
Model engineering including planes and trains

Gardening and ownership of allotment  again his patience in nurturing and growing plants was legendary 

appreciation of history , especially his own family history in conjunction with the history of the IOW. Love of reading and books with fiction and non fiction were endemic and what he passed onto his daughter. Most times of furniture in the Rackett household are bookcases.... 

 Art and Art History,he loved painting and  dad and I  had many days trips to London wandering around the galleries, although he loved the French Impressionists the best he was always open minded about more modern art and love the venue of the Tate Modern.... we always finished off for a meal in China Town ... 

Music   he loved music around him at all times , Prior to his last few years when his telly became more important, Dad would always haves sacrificed his TV for his radio. All kinds of music appealed to hm (except for opera) , he tastes were varied from Classical jazz and big band to more modern singers such as Adele,Amy Winehouse &  Ellie Golding. Frank Sinatra to Fleetwood Mac , he also loved singer songwriters such as Carly Simon.,Carole King & Jamie Cullen. I would say that he greatest enjoyment of music came from listening to the female Jazz /Band singers , Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Marilyn Montgomery, & Sarah Vaughan . His taste in music was very similar another hero of his Michael Parkinson.   Saturday night  for Dad in the seventies would be out to the club for a couple of beers with his mates and then back on the sofa watching Parky with a nice Malt......... 

Sport 
Dad had great appreciation for following all sports,  though with his all his other pursuits  and hobbies, he did not actively participate in sports other than sailing during his younger years... 
He supported Pompey FC though not as manically as Chris, his son .  He loved watching athletics and golf but his absolute passion was Cricket and F1  One of the primary influences in making the move in retirement to West Bridgford, apart from been nearer to Caroline and Andy was the draw of Trent Bridge, watching domestic and international cricket... As his generally health more more frail, he got joy from watching Sky Sports, and was an avid viewer and became very supportive of both the mens and women's cricket team.  One of his 2 claims to fame as an Engineer in the merchant navy on The Banana Boats, he played deck cricket with Sir Garfield Sobers and the touring W.I cricket team on their journey to England. 

Telly, Films Humour 
Dad enjoyed some of the drama s , especially murder mystery, but he loved all the old classic comedies,   entertainment comedy such as Morecambe and Wise, 2 Ronnie’s, Satire such s Monty Python, Not the nine o clock news,That was the Week that was, Have a got news to you and finally the great British sitcom Steptoe, Dad's Army,  Porridge and Only Fools and Horses . dad also loved going to the theatre and cinema.  Dad was of course a fervent supporter of the BBC and 2nd claim to fame was appearing on Go with Noakes at the top of the Belmont transmitter mast at 1000ft !!!!! 

Dad had great sense of humour and fun and I think thats what helped him deal with the more challenging times in his life, especially the unexpected death of his beloved son Chris, at the age of forty.  He never truly recovered from this loss as they were such good friends as well as father and son, but his natural positivity and love of life meant he carried on the best he could.   

Tribute from Charlotte and Tish , his grand daughters to be read out verbatim. Please could you stress that the difficult decision for Charlotte and Tish to continue with their adventure in New Zealand and Australia was totally supported by Ron's Family... 
 
It is with great sadness that we cannot be with you all today to celebrate the life of our grandad. We will always be so proud to be the granddaughters of such a intelligent, interesting and caring granddad who has been so important in shaping who we are today. 
Our best memories of him involve his enthusiasm for any interests we had. From taking us to space museums to airports he always invested his time in what we wanted to know and we always held great interest in him. Whether that be standing in his shed watching him craft his model boats or spending time with him at his allotment, to asking him questions about his time with the BBC or our family history. 
We also have many memories of sitting around the dining room table, always with a Mars bar ice cream and talking about what we were studying at school and later on university or debating what was going on in the news. He always loved to have a debate and would encourage our opinions and views. 
We will always miss our granddad but know that these treasured memories and the lessons he taught us will stay with us forever. Love you lots Granddad. 

 
Finally, we hope this summarises how much love and devotion we had for Ron/Dad.  and why we all are going to miss him so much .

Im not going to dwell on his illness and fragility at the end of his life , as this time was very frustrating for him and that he couldn't continue with all his hobbies as before, however, Mum and I appreciate all the excellent help he received from his carers and the hospital team at QMC for all their endeavours at the end of his life..  

It is incredibly touching and poignant that on the day the Dad passed away another legendary Ronnie died as well , so Its good night from me and a good night from him good night ………..