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An email received from Jon Petter (MaA/ColA 75 - 82):-
It is with sadness that I write to tell you of the death of my brother T. J. Petter (MaA/LaB 70 - 76 I think! I'm sure about the houses but not exact years) on March 13th of this year.
I am pasting below an obituary written by his partner Theresa Giffard which you may care to use. Three Old Blues spoke at his celebration - 2 were contemporaries of his, Nigel Richardson and James Peto, and the third was his uncle Professor Edward Timms. James is the son of Morton and Olive Peto, both of whom (I found out on the day of the celebration for Tim) taught myself and our uncle Edward Timms, now around 70 years old.
Yours sincerely,
Jon Petter
MaA/ColA 75 - 82
An obituary written by his partner Theresa Giffard:
Tim Petter who died on 13th March 2006 aged 46 after a dignified and courageous battle against malignant melonoma will be remembered by all who knew him as a man of extraordinary diversity and intellect.
Although he had a fairly conventional start in life with his secondary education at Christ's Hospital, Horsham followed by Jesus College Cambridge, his life was anything but ordinary.
From a very early age he developed a passion for music and the trombone ( amongst a wealth of other instruments) became a lifelong part of everyday life right up until a couple of months before he died, and he played in countless bands from the marching band at Christ's Hospital, Reggae and jazz bands, Klezmer ensembles, Kathy Stobarts big band, and in the early 1980's the stalwarts of any CND or anti nuclear rally, The Fallout Marching Band, to name a few.
He was very tall , with an eccentric dress sense, a fondness for collecting strange objects and in the early 1980's became a circus performer with a natural sense of the ridiculous working with his partner all over this country and then in Japan.While working in Japan he became fascinated by the culture and language and learnt to speak ( and write) Japanese. On returning to Britain he enrolled in a course in Japanese at SOAS where his fluency and dedication earned him top marks.
However his love of performing and music drew him away from a career in languages and in 1996 he formed a large scale performance company The Dream Engine whose spectacular inventions have wowed audiences all over the world . In particular The Heliosphere, an enormous Helium balloon with an aerialist pirouetting suspended underneath it is one of the most beautiful images you could ever hope to see.
Alongside this he was a tireless supporter and committed member of a South London Housing Co-operative, and worked endlessly to create affordable housing in South London, a legacy that is enjoyed by over 50 members and their families to this day. He was passionate about Aikido and an accomplished 3rd dan black belt.
Sadly, he was not to live long into old age. A mole that was removed from his back in 2003 was found to be malignant and subsequently the disease spread throughout his body. He faced his death with enormous fortitude and strength. He died at home as he had wanted with Theresa by side and a house full of children, his 2 brothers and friends. His coffin was made from driftwood and he was driven in the back of his volvo to be cremated at a service conducted by his family. A celebration followed two days later in the cherry orchard where his youngest brother lives. 250 people came. We spoke, we drank,we sang, cried and laughed. A rainbow came out. It was a fitting end for a wonderful man who crammed more into his short life than many of us could ever hope to. .
He leaves behind his partner of 22 years ( and wife of 8 weeks) Theresa, and his three children Tashi, Lucas and Molly.
Tim Petter 11.6.1959 - 13.3.2006
Julian Taylor-Gadd
Leigh Hunt 1985-1992
Founder of The Unofficial CH Forum https://www.grovegeeks.co.uk - IT Support and website design for home, small businesses and charities.
I remember Tim well from the band, as he was one place above me in the trombone pecking order. He was always involved in all sorts of music, even back then.
Tim was a great trombone player as far as I recall. Quite a hard act to follow - and I'm sorry to hear that he went so young - but reading the obituary - what a life - I wish I'd known him better! I remember him playing a particular solo with the band in a concert - lots of slide and lots of notes - can't remember what it was called tho' RR - maybe you remember the one I'm thinking of??
We shared the Grecians' English Prize in 1976. He wrote wonderfully unembarrassed and touching poetry and seemed to be someone who ran deep. I didn't know him well but I'm so sorry to hear of his death.
Last edited by Rex on Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rory wrote:Tim was a great trombone player as far as I recall. Quite a hard act to follow - and I'm sorry to hear that he went so young - but reading the obituary - what a life - I wish I'd known him better! I remember him playing a particular solo with the band in a concert - lots of slide and lots of notes - can't remember what it was called tho' RR - maybe you remember the one I'm thinking of??
I would imagine that the piece he played was The Joker or The Acrobat (lots of glissandi). That sort of stuff was always wheeled out at band concerts.
I had to play one of them when we did the Albert Hall gig (can't remember which one, though, as they're quite similar.......).
I only overlapped briefly with Tim in the band & was 2 places below him in the trombone section. I remember him for his brilliance & flair with the trombone & his great sense of humour. I am so sorry to hear that he has died so young, but it is great to know that he packed so much in & continued to be such an inspirational guy.
I think I was the worst trombone player in the band.
Kibble was slightly better than me.
Ruck was pretty good at it and dedicated, it seemed, to just that and smoking.
But Tim played the instrument with real feeling and was really enthralling when he played.
Sad to think he lived so near me and our paths never crossed again.
I didn't know him very well but do remember him as someone with a real passion for what he did so well.
