John Francis Chun (Passed away 13 Nov 2019)

John Francis Chun
7th May 1943 – 13th November 2019

Born Swindon PMH, eldest son of Bubs and Archie
Younger sister Ruth and younger brother Colin

Schools: Rodbourne Cheney School, then Headlands (7 ‘O’ Levels)

WORK:

1959 – 64: Apprenticeship at Vickers Armstrong; gained HNC and HND in Electronic Engineering

Once his apprenticeship was over, John started work at Garrards Engineering, where he was instrumental in developing the Noise Reduction System for the Dolby tapes. John’s brother-in-law, Roger, remembers having a tape deck which John had designed, installed in his car for a trial – that was new technology back then.

John joined Datatrak in the ‘80s and embraced the new technology of Computer Aided Design (CAD) over the old drawing office/draughtsman boards. He was a key developer of Datatrak’s vehicle tracking device used in the Securicor cash-in-transit vehicles.

John retired in May 2007 and he loved it!

FAMILY:

Eldest daughter Dawn was born in 1966.

John met Daphne in 1973 at Heaths School of Dancing in Old Town. Daphne claims she had two left feet at the time, whereas John has had a few lessons.

They married in 1975 in Wotton Bassett until 1977, when they moved to Toothill.

Second daughter Joanne was born in 1976.

Son Mark was born in 1981.

John was very proud of all his children and was chuffed to bits when granddaughter Bethany arrived in 1999.

INTERESTS:

John loved gardening and shared an allotment with his Dad for many years. He always said we could never grow sweet peas as well as his Dad did.

He liked the birds that visited his garden – especially the wren – but he hated cats and would chase them off if he saw one. He liked to sit in his conservatory in warm weather.

John also enjoyed home brewing, making homemade beer for many years, before switching to wine.

John and Daphne enjoyed many happy seaside holidays on the coast of Cornwall. The beach has always been a favourite place to go, hence the request for donations to the RNLI – that, and granddaughter Bethany is a keen surfer.

One of John’s favourite holiday spots was Lamorna Cove in the far south-west of Cornwall. Jo and Mark remember pushing him up the steep hill from the cove to the pub, affectionately referring to him as the ‘Old Banger’.

We would also call him as ‘the Venerable Sage’, a title coined from the Perishers cartoon.

John liked to walk along coastal paths and woodlands. Some favourite routes included Bluebell Woods, Barbury Castle and Chun Castle. He’d also walk the path from Lamorna to Mousehole for loaf of bread!

John had a great appetite for knowledge and retained an interest in new technology, although he always did careful research before investing in a new gadget or appliance. He went to the library at least once a week and liked to watch documentaries.

One thing John’s family will definitely remember him for: he was a very reluctant visitor. No matter who he was visiting, he could never stay anywhere for more than an hour – time’s up!