Monday 9th October

[Mrs Ava]

My dad would have been 61 today.  This is him.  :'(



Gerald came into the world on October 9th, 1945 alongside his twin sister, Christine, the only son of proud parents, Clara Maud and Wallace Overton. Christine died before she reached her first birthday but Gerald was accompanied through childhood by his sisters Madeline and Vivian and it was spent in Clapham, London.

At the age of 5 he contracted polio and spent time in Charing Cross Hospital and Tooting Grove Fever Hospital. He overcame the polio when he caught measles at a Guy Fawkes celebration, but he was left with his left leg being slightly shorter than the right, noticeable when he walked. Once he was well again he was able to start school and attended Hazleridge School in Clapham.

His father died of stomach cancer in 1956 at the age of 42 leaving Clara Maud and the children.

After leaving school, Gerald worked as a fork lift truck operator, a window cleaner, a bus conductor and then he joined the army with a crowd of friends and was enlisted in the Blues and Royals Tank Regiment as a gunner driver. He left the army in 1968/69 but remained friends with some of his army chums until his death. After leaving the army he worked in the Post Office, but ended up working as a milkman for Express Dairies which he was still doing on the day he died.

He was introduced to Lynda Young by a mutual friend in March 1969 and shortly after their first meeting they were engaged. Then on February 28th 1970 they were married and in 2000 celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They spent their entire married life in the first home they purchased together in Sutton Common Road, Surrey.

They had two daughters, Emma Jane on November 22nd 1970 and Katie Ann on July 8th 1973, and eventually four grand children, although he only ever met 2 of them.   Gerald continued working at Express Dairies, in Putney, Richmond, and finally, Nine Elms and boasted about his doorstep deliveries to such stars as Lionel Blair, Rick Mayall and Ethel from Eastenders! He was an exceptional milkman, taking telephone orders from customers night and day, looking in on the older ones, and lending a helping hand wherever he could.

In 1985 he suffered a mild heart attack but was back on his feet in no time and desperate to get back to work and back to normal. Then on August 2nd, 2000 whilst at work and with friends he suffered a massive heart attack and never made it back. He is missed by us all with every passing day. My dad - simply the best.

[Mrs Ava]

[lorna]

Emma. I bet like my children you will never stop talking about  the happy times (and the sad). My four children seem to bring their Dad's name into nearly every conversation. They lost their Dad in 2003. I am just sorry that he won't be around to welcome our first Great Grandchild  next year.
Lorna.

[rosebud]

Emma, my dear father passed away in 1975, i never stop thinking or talking about him so i know just how you feel.  My thoughts will be with you tomorrow. Love Maryxx.

[wellingtons]

Oh sweetheart ... it's hard isn't?  You're too young to have lost your dad.  I hope today is as filled with happy memories as it is with sad.  I doubt very much that you will ever stop missing him, but you will never stop loving him.

Thank you for sharing his life story with us.  Much love, Wx

[tim]

Makes one count ones blessings.

[busy_lizzie]

Dear Emma, I was touched by your words about your Dad.  It will be a day of precious memories for you, and I hope he feels close-by today and you can feel how much you were loved by him. I am thinking about you! love busy_lizzie

[trojanrabbit]

Dear Emma,
Many thoughts, not many words... my Dad passed away about a fortnight before I started Uni (in '98). Oddly, the due date for our first child is just three days after his birthday at the start of November.
My thoughts and best wishes are with you.
Happy Birthday, Gerald!

best
Pete

[supersprout]

Makes one count ones blessings.

Including the memories we leave behind. Thank you for sharing your memories of a very special dad with us today EJ :-*

[plot51A]

Thoughts and love Emma. Lost my Dad in 1983, also to a massive heart attack - have never stopped missing him. Thank you for sharing.

[Multiveg]

Aww EJ, you've got me  :'( now. I had written about my father for an Open University assignment that I sent in last Thursday. Maybe, if his birthday had been in spring/summer, I could have sown 3 rows of Webbs Wonderful all at once in memory of him.