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EULOGY - Christopher Kirkpatrick - by a neighbour
Hello, my name is Simon Mullins ... I knew Christopher as a neighbour of my friend Teresina White & her young Son Aaron ... Teri & Aaron lived next door to Christopher on the other side from the Shepards in Guildford ...
The first time I know of Christopher was when Teri told me about this gentle giant who lived next door to her ...
She told me that in the depths of her foggiest days when her husband had abandoned her 9 weeks after Aaron came into the world ... she realized that she had a real Saint living next door ... That individual's name was Christopher ... Chris to us ...
I met Chris around December 1994 ... He was then working in 'IT' for Prospect Electricity ...
Chris was a very private person who kept mostly to himself .. however it was apparent the compassion that he held for people in less fortunate circumstances ... that & his love for animals especially cats ...
Teri was given a little kitten that was an absolute handful ... Chris named the kitten Rocket ... it was apparent that this cat soon became too big a responsibility for her so the 'Saint' stepped in ... Chris to the rescue ...
Eventually ... Teri ... not to be put off decided that it was time to educate herself & little Aaron with another pet ... this time a gorgeous looking petite at the time of sale cute irresistible Golden coloured Staffordshire Bull Terrier Cross [Labrador] puppy ... I named him Costa ... only because I recognized he was going to cost a fortune ... to feed house train ... you know the things you forget when you see that little tail wagging ... and those cute puppy dog eyes ...
At this stage Christopher had built a huge garage at the rear of the property & bought two dogs, initially first as guard dogs, ... well that was his intention but then the dogs - the first one boof should have been named with the suffix head ... a really insecure silly dog that would only bite the neighbours & his girlfriend Merrill ...
Then he purchased a beautiful black Rottweiler Bitch with the personality of a cat ... Chris was enamoured for a while with Biff ... she was the most gentle dog & loyal, ... loving, & soon took pride of place behind the fortress like fence & gates that Chris had arranged for the security of his property ...
But as always the 'Saint' from next door came to the neighbours rescue ... offering to take a very stupid well intentioned but mean looking dog off a greatly relieved Teri's hands ...
It was the sort of arrangement you dream about ... you don't lose a friend they just move next door ... I am sure the Irony of this arrangement was not lost on Chris ... a few subtle comments like ... "you know what 'your' dog did to the fence?" ... & " 'your' dog is misbehaving again" ... Costa was literally eating wood & demolishing Chris' home starting with the wooden bits ... and he was not a fussy eater ... you get the point
The reason I thought Chris was a "Saint" was the way he adopted Aaron ... he used to leave a "Present" each Christmas & Easter never once forgetting the dreams of Childhood ... a word of kindness ... a gesture from a generous person generous of spirit ... never expecting thanks ... he represented what was good about people in life ... he was a person with potential ... a kind gentle giant a very good person to have as a neighbour & I amongst others & all his friends & neighbours including the Shepards, the Whites, the Alwans, the Branis all of whom both present & absent here today will be a lot poorer in spirit for his passing ...
Simon Mullins
12th April, 2002
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