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| 2 Oct 2019 | |
| Deaths & Obituaries |
| GRIMSDITCH, David Maurice Died on 11 November 2018, aged 61. The following obituary was written by his brother, Peter Grimsditch MH 64-69: David was born in Lima, Peru, where like his brothers, on reaching school age, he attended Markham College, the British School in Lima. From Lima the family moved to Santiago, Chile, where David also attended a British School: The Grange School, where he learned his hockey and rugby. He also became a very proficient tennis player. He passed his common entrance examination with flying colours and followed his two elder brothers to Manor House at Tonbridge School, where he continued to excel at games, becoming a member of the hockey XI and the first XV. From Tonbridge he went up to St. John’s College, Oxford, to study Modern Languages, where also played hockey for the college. In his year off between School and University he had gone back to Chile, where he encountered evangelical missionaries who converted him to their faith. After graduating from Oxford, he went to work for the evangelical organization at their headquarters in Colorado. While there he contracted tuberculosis, a nodule forming in his spine and severing it. This made him a bit of a medical curiosity in the USA for a while. He was medevaced by St John Ambulance back to England to go through rehabilitation, later returning to Chile to marry Miriam, a Chilean girl whom he had met at an Evangelical Convention in Colorado. He remained in Chile thereafter serving as an Evangelical Pastor, beloved and much admired by his flock. He earned his living as a translator with Deloitte, specialising in financial translation. He and Miriam adopted two girls from the south of Chile, whom they raised in the faith, on a smallholding outside Santiago, giving them a new lease of life and providing them with the best education available - both Deborah and Rebecca have completed University in Chile. David lived out his life in a wheelchair, with admirable fortitude and courage, swimming in his garden pool for exercise and even driving into Santiago to his office. He eventually fell victim to a cancer of the bladder, a not uncommon consequence of living many years intubated with a catheter. He underwent treatment for a couple of years, steadfastly continuing to minister to his congregation, and care for his family. Money has been raised in his name by his congregation to build a social and civic centre that will be named after him, a fitting tribute to someone for whom the welfare of his family and community meant everything. He passed away on Remembrance Sunday 2018 and is lovingly remembered and sorely missed by his family, many friends and members of his congregation. Hasta siempre, David! (MH 70-74) |
