Although we both knew that the dreaded day of your passing would eventually come, nothing could prepare me for the shock of your leaving. I can only say to you that your wife, Pauline, all your daughters and your only son, were there for you right to the bitter end, and although I’m not religious, I know that you will be very proud of your family as you look down on them all, with love and pride, from wherever you may be. As for myself, I still have a few heartfelt words left to say to you ... ... Firstly and most importantly, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there when I needed you. I want to thank you for the many happy (and some sad) times that we shared together over a pint or ten as well! You were the first man on the planet to learn of my first born son’s (and your first grand son’s) arrival into this world, that is how much respect that I had, and still have, for you. You know something? You could be a cantankerous old fool and even though some of your lessons taught were very old fashioned, learned from your own father and mother, they have been learned by us all, especially the grandchildren who will hopefully, one day, teach their own children to show the kind of respect to others that you instilled in them. You know something? You were treated with the respect and the love that you deserved and you leave behind many, many people remembering, ‘Enoch‘, ‘Uncle Joe’ or plain old Derek. You know something? You got the send off that you deserved. Your family, who were all blessed by you being here on Earth, made sure of that. Your wife will be loved by all that remain here and we will all make damned sure that she is looked after for the rest of her life. You know something else? I miss you so much and just want to thank you for being who you were, and always will be, to me. Wherever you are now, I hope you are free of that damned pain that did its best to ruin the latter stages of your life. I hope, with all my being, that wherever you are now, there are rolling fields of green grass filled with the wild flowers that you loved, and crystal clear blue skies stretching as far as the horizon for you to enjoy. Above all, I hope that you will find the peace and tranquillity that you deserve.