Lost friend - "KentGardener" is no more

[Maggi Young]

Terrible news today that the excellent fellow known in these pages as "KentGardener" - John Finch - has passed away.  I know no more at present.

John has not taken part in the forum for some time, but we were still in contact but this terrible  news has come a a dreadful shock. 
Many Scots members were delighted to meet him when he attended some events  up here and  for galanthophiles in particular he was a great pal ti many members here.

John was fifty years old - it's no age to die.
 

How we will remember him - John - in camo gear, as ever!

[Gail]

How very dreadful. I met him at several snowdrop events - always jolly and very good company.

[kentish_lass]

Oh No - I have just heard this awful news.  I can hardly believe it - I thought a lot of John and met him on this forum.  If it wasn't for him I probably would not have continued collecting Galanthus but John was so enthusiastic and got rides organised for me to local snowdrop events.  I often got a train to visit him as I hate motorway driving and we always had such a good laugh.  Last time I saw him he sent me home with a huge Trachycarpus in a massive heavy duty Tesco shopping bag and put it on the train for me!  I am reeling from this news.  If anyone has more updates please let me know - I want to go to the funeral if anyone knows who I could contact.  So, so sad.....I will really miss him and will treasure the many gifts from his wonderful little garden 

[johnw]

What sad and devastating news.  After much correspondence on the Forum and via email we arranged to meet John at the RHS Winter Show in 2009, it was like meeting up with an old friend.  So kind, gentle, generous and witty, despite his absence of late he was always on our minds everytime a new snowdrop was posted.

I can hardly comprehend this, it seems like yesterday that he lost his partner and yet managed to overcome his immense grief with much support from Forumists.

Heart-broken as many other forumists will certainly be..........

john

[Brian Ellis]

Still struggling to come to grips with this.  He touched a lot of lives.

[Alan_b]

This is terrible news and a great shock to me.  Unlike most of us snowdrop addicts, John had managed to kick the habit but during his galanthophile period  he made a tremendous contribution to the forum, not least with his blogs on the snowdrop events he attended.   Those blogs were what influenced me to write-up my own snowdrop trip recently and I am sure he will have had a lasting influence on many people who knew him, either directly or through this forum.   

[chasw]

Such terrible news,both Jan and I are in shock,although we had not seen John for a while we had been in contact via e mails,he will be sadly missed,as others have said he did a fantastic blog of all his snowdrops visits which kept many forum users updated and amused

A sad sad day

[Alan_b]

John and I used to go snowdrop hunting together in a private wood where I have permission to collect the odd snowdrop of interest.  One time, John negotiated his way over a collapsed barbed wire fence to find a new area where there was a high proportion of weird and freaky snowdrops (a type John liked).  I have collected various oddities from that area over the years, an area which I always think of as John's.  Perhaps I can find one of these to name in his honour?   

[Brian Ellis]

Perhaps I can find one of these to name in his honour?   

What a good idea....unless Joe has got one in the pipeline already waiting for a name!

[Yann]

i'm shocked as many of you, i remember good laughting in his small garden after an AGS show.

[David Nicholson]

Very sad news.

[johnralphcarpenter]

That's no age at all. Life can be so cruel.

[ranunculus]

We had some wonderful communications ... such a lovely guy.  Very sad news indeed.

[Maggi Young]

The funeral service for John Finch  is at 11-30am on Thursday 15th June in the Main Chapel of Eastbourne Crematorium.

Eastbourne Crematorium
Hide Hollow
Langney
Eastbourne
Sussex
BN238AE

[emma T]

I'm going to miss him , it was a friendship you could just pick up when you next met them .