Farewell to Jeff Venton

Family, friends (both Spanish and British), and numerous members of the Gandia Area Social Club (International) gathered at the Denia crematorium on Thursday 28^th April to pay their last respects to Jeff Venton. Jeff was President of the Gandia Club.

Jeff passed away in the early hours of Monday morning after a long and courageous battle against cancer.

The Rev. Bruce Addington led a deeply moving service, striking exactly the right balance between reflection, celebration of Jeff´s life and deep sadness at his parting. Jeff´s son-in-law Simon delivered an eloquent eulogy. With sunlight slanting through the stained glass windows above, and the gorgeous strains of Morning Has Broken, (Jeff’s favourite hymn), filling the chapel, one was filled with a sense of optimism and renewal as much as loss. It was as if Jeff had planned it this way and was somewhere nearby smiling his approval.

In keeping with the family’s wishes, floral tributes were few. Instead, charitable donations were invited and collected for MABS, the astoundingly dedicated Javea-based cancer support group, which gave the couple such unstinting help during the final weeks and months of Jeff’s illness. (Anyone wishing to add a donation of their own - however modest - may do so. Telephone the Secretary, Gandia Area Social Club, on 96 287 8298).

Jeffrey Frank Venton was born in West Bromwich in 1937 and educated at West Bromwich Grammar School. He lost his father to cancer at age 8 and was brought up thereafter by his mother, an accountant. On leaving school he went to work for National Benzol as a chemist.

At the same time, he was also developing his musical talents, as a tenor in Baptist Church choirs and as a saxophonist at the Midlands Jazz Club. Trad Jazz was the ‘next big thing’ in those days and Jeff was a real enthusiast. He even met (well, sort of) the great Louis Armstrong! Jeff was in the front row at a small jazz venue where the great man was playing. Louis lifted his trumpet a little carelessly to his mouth for a solo and (not for the first or last time, it seems) split his lip open. Jeff was among the recipients of Satchmo’s bloody spit!

Call-up papers plopped into Jeff’s life in 1959 and he went off to sign-up for service in the RAF. His service career can best be described as short and checkered. He was shunted around southwest England for two years, winding up as an instructor teaching Morse code to WAAFs.

The most significant event of his stay in the south was his meeting with Josephine at Weymouth in 1959. They were married in 1960 and moved into quarters in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire.

On Jeff’s release from the RAF following his two years´ service, the couple stayed in the area and he worked as an engineer, for varying spells, for the local authorities of Bath and Wiltshire. But Jeff´s position with National Benzol in West Brom had been kept open for him during his military stint, so they moved back to Brum. In the fullness of time, Jeff Venton rose to become Head of Civil Engineering Laboratories for the West Midlands and later Birmingham City Council. He was also Chairman of Governors of a girls’ grammar school and Deacon of the local Baptist church in Sutton Coldfield.

In 1971, Jeff and Jo had come to Spain with their two daughters and bought a small holiday apartment on Daimus Playa. In 1996 taking advantage of an early retirement package offered by Birmingham City Council, they moved permanently to Spain and moved to a run-down villa in Daimus, which they proceeded to transform into a dream home.

Once settled, Jeff got involved in the Help network, providing assistance and equipment for people with mobility difficulties. It was though a presentation about the work of Help that he became associated with the Gandia Area Social Club. He became an active member of the Club, its Treasurer for some years and finally its President. He continued as ‘Míster’ Gandia Help until last year when his illness forced him to relinquish his responsibilities.

Jeff Venton was, quite simply, a lovely man. Possessed of a quiet authority and a wry sense of humour, he was liked by all. He will be much missed.

He is survived by his wife Jo and daughters Sarah and Kim, and his two beloved Old English Sheepdogs, Sophie and Waldo.