Thursday 4 September 2008

John Hawley

Last night I was very sad to get the news that John Hawley, Deputy Director of our department, had died. He had been diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer last February and had been off work since then. Throughout the last few months John had remained cheerful and positive, and was an inspiration to all of us who had been in touch with him. Even when his son died in tragic circumstances a few weeks after his diagnosis, he kept his positive outlook.

John had worked at the University for 26 years, originally as a Systems Analyst in the Data Processing Unit and then as Director of Management and Administrative Computing Services. For the last 12 years he had worked closely with me as Deputy Director of CiCS. As well as his work within the department, John was always keen to play a full role in University life, and got involved in a number of areas, especially those relating to HR issues. John loved dealing with people - his door was literally always open, and anyone who called in could be guaranteed a good listener and a sympathetic ear.

I last saw him a week before his death, and was shocked and saddened to see how ill he was - he was obviously uncomfortable and in pain, but chatted for a good half hour, and his sense of humour was still there. He has been a tremendous support to me over the last few years, through difficult personal times as well as through changes at work, and I've missed him terribly over the last few months. Since the news went out to the University, I've had loads of messages from people about how much they liked and respected him and how much he will be missed, and I hope that this will be of some comfort to his friends and family.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Farewell Cousin John.
I remember playing cricket in the backyard in Herne Bay with the four of you, my brother David & myself.
I enjoyed knowing that we were both fascinated by the family genealogy. Hawley dna I suppose.

Alan Hawley
Minneapolis, MN

Unknown said...

Farewell Cousin John, from the Dique family in Hawaii.

Our common interest in genealogy, let Alan to contact me and trace our roots from the Lemmon family.

Charles Dique
Honolulu, Hawaii

Anonymous said...

I worked with john from 1982 to 1988 and always enjoyed his laughter and positivity. I was sad to hear of his passing - please pass on my best wishes to his family. He was a good man and I miss him.

john tann sheffield dpu 1982 1988

Simian said...

Is this John Hawley whose family lived in Pier Avenue in Herne Bay?

Ian Blakey

Anonymous said...

Is this Ian Blakey who lived in Herne Bay? We were in the same class together with John Hawley at King's Road Primary School.

Erik van Tiel

Simian said...

Yes. This is he! You used to live in Dence Park not far from the water tower.

Ian

Anonymous said...

That's right. Your memory is amazing! You moved away from Herne Bay and in 1965 I moved back to the Netherlands. Still have fond memories of England, though. How about getting in touch? epvantiel@gmail.com
I came across the announcement of John Hawley's passing away quite by chance. So sad.