After a couple of years they married, and he took his bride on a honeymoon the
start of which no bride would ever forget, they appeared at Bournemouth on
their second day of wedded bliss to watch the first days play of Hampshire against
Gloucestershire, how he ever got away with that, knowing how much Wendy
detested cricket, I will never know.
After many years he had had enough of bookmaking, taking a Business
Management Course and ending up travelling around the country from an office in
Twickenham, driving to and from Plymouth every weekend. Eventually with another
colleague he started their own business from an office in Exeter. This put him back
in the fold at Tavistock CC where he started to work his way through the ‘offices’
necessary to keep an amateur sports club on an even keel.
Together with Wendy he bought a house in Spain and they were so enthused by the
idea that they began their own business of selling properties in Spain, “off plan” all
over the Westcountry. They employed agents of their own, and with his drive and
enthusiasm together with Wendy’s calm, and laid back approach they were very
successful.
It meant he had to forgo weekend cricket because that was when they took their
exhibitions around the South West, but he then played midweek. Years went by
until the Internet arrived and the business slowed. Then he decided to retire and
the phenomenon that he became hit the calm, mellow, peaceful, waters of Devon
cricket.
He did not waste a single day, already a member of the Lords Taverners in Plymouth,
now Chairman of Tavistock he set about raising money for his own club, visiting
every business in the town, any new arrivals in the area would have opened their
doors on their first day expecting to take a few quid off the first customer, only to
find themselves handing over £25 for an advert in the Tavistock CC fixture card
before they even saw their first customer.
By the time he left us in 2017 he had raised in excess of £20000 for his “Home of
Cricket”.
He had already joined the Devon Seniors Cricket for whom he played regularly
taking on the job of Fundraising to start with, and organising the annual dinner, a
job incidently he had done for Tavistock for over 25 years. Joined the newly formed
David Shepherd Cricket Foundation as Hon. Treasurer and Trustee. Joined the Devon
County Cricket Club Committee. He took on the Vice-Chairmans role of the Devon
Cricket League in 2010, before taking over as Chairman in 2012 a position he held
until he left us in May 2017.
In addition to his superb fundraising, wonderful efforts with local schools and
commitment to different cricketing organisations, Stuart was also something of a
diplomat. When relations between the Devon Cricket Board and the County Club
were at a low ebb, Stuart tried to bring the sides together. Although he was not
successful on that occasion, it required intervention by the England and Wales
Cricket Board to effect compromise, Stuart continued to try hard in committee
exhorting the League, the Board and the County, to work closely together for the
benefit of all Devon cricket.
Sadly he was about to have a problem that even he could not talk his way out of.
He was amazingly stoic about his Cancer, he said “well in all my 73 years I have only
ever had a heavy cold, nothing else, so until now I have been lucky, so I don’t think
I can complain”. Well considering the other problems that developed as time went
on he certainly did have a lot to complain about, but never a sound, indeed the
humour was still obvious, when his second, very strong chemotherapy took his hair
he insisted that Wendy took him a comb for the one remaining strand.
He was given a choice of where he would like to spend his final weeks and not
surprisingly chose his home with his family. His funeral was emotional and his wake
at his ‘Home of Cricket’ even moreso.
Club members had prepared all the food, marquees, seating and tables by various
organisations that he had helped over the years, but what struck me the most was
the way the young cricketers of the Club had worked together with the old farts
to make it a special day for him. That he would have enjoyed, and probably did, if
anyone could have defied logic and passed through, he would have!!
I have a picture in my mind of him having a chat with the Almighty and saying “look
brother get that old bloke sat on your right hand side to move, I’m here now, and
I’ve got plenty of ideas to get this place changed around”
Stuart’s passing of course could have a knock on effect on the sales every Sunday
of the West Country cricket fans favourite newspaper, the Independent, because
for the last decade, at least every other week, there was a photograph of Stuart,
presenting either an award, a grant or just talking to somebody important!!
Never fear though, a visit to the Tavistock CC will satisfy all curiosities, he features
in 99% of the photographs on view in the pavilion!!! I would like to thank Nigel
Mountford for his input on this tribute of a truly remarkable friend.
Jack Davey
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