Tributes paid to 'special dad' and 'proud family man' Garry Craythorne

Tributes have been paid to a ‘special dad’ from Maidenhead – remembered for always being there when people needed him.

Garry Craythorne, also a long-time Maidenhead Advertiser employee, died aged 72 at his home in Furze Platt on October 4. He had been diagnosed with motor neurone disease.

Pam Craythorne, Garry’s wife of 51 years, remembered him as a kind and quiet man who loved his family.

“If anybody needed any help, he would be there,” she added. “He would give his last penny away.”

“He was a quiet man – he liked to be at home and he liked to go out for walks.

“He would take his grandchildren and his children, and go out for a couple of hours with the dog. He loved his garden too – a lot of care went into the garden.”

Garry's daughter Gemma remembered him as 'a special dad'. 

Garry, one of 10 siblings, began his working life as an apprentice printer at the Advertiser aged 15 and freshly out of school.

The print media industry was very different at that time. The Advertiser was based at offices in Queen Street and its newspaper pages were printed using a technique called typesetting.

Garry continued to work in production as technology changed and pages were laid out digitally using computers.

The Advertiser moved to offices in Bell Street in 1989.

“He stayed there [at the Advertiser], more or less, most of his life,” said Pam, 69.

“He left a couple of times to go to a different company, and they asked him to come back.”

Garry worked at the paper until his early 60s, and would also contribute to its sports pages – writing match reports for the Maidenhead Boys youth football team he managed.

“There was a vicar in Maidenhead that used to write up for Maidenhead Boys and when he stopped, Garry took over,” Pam said.

“He would do all of that in his dinner hour – two or three pages in the paper each week.”

A keen Tottenham Hotspur Football Club supporter and ex-player for Maidenhead-based Old Gordonians FC, Garry coached his love of the game to youngsters from under-9s to under-15s.

Garry’s daughter Gemma, one of four children, remembered her father as a ‘special dad’ – with a sense of humour to match.

“Nothing was ever too much to ask,” she said.

“He would do anything. Dad would come and do my garden for me, he helped paint my house with me – he could do it all.

"He was a special dad, definitely.”

Garry pictured at his son Dean's 40th birthday party

Garry is survived by his four children: Gemma, 43; Dean, 47; Gareth, 49; and Jamie, 51.

He also has seven grandchildren: Millie, Owen, Lilly, Rhys, Charlie, George and Louie; two great grandchildren Esme and Finley; a son-in-law and two daughters-in-law.

A remembrance event for Garry will be held at Maidenhead Conservative Club from 3pm on Friday, October 24.

There will be no funeral service, as was his wish.

“Anyone who knew him is welcome to come,” Gemma said. “We want to remember him how he wanted to be
remembered – and that would be to have a drink and listen to some music.”

Advertiser CEO Jeremy Spooner also paid tribute. He said: “I had the pleasure of knowing Garry for just shy of 40 years.

"He had many great qualities some of which enabled him to adapt and re-skill during the constant changes to the newspaper sector during his long career at the Advertiser.

“Garry was a proud family man and straight talker who had strong values. He will be sorely missed by family and friends.”

The family has welcomed donations to be made to the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Thames Hospice.