One of our oldest players Patrick Laurance sadly passed away after a minor operation on 11th Jan 2008 at the age of 88 yrs. Patrick and his wife Joan have been regular players at the Thursday morning social table tennis session for quite a few years and they contributed much to the friendly atmosphere prevailing on those mornings. Patrick was a special man who put others at ease with his manner and sense of humour and fought unswervingly for good causes. He had served on the Local Council and with Joan formed the Family Holiday Association charity to give a break to disadvantaged families with children. Fundraising for that charity became a major part of his life right until he died.
He was born in Essex, loved sport and participated in football, cricket, tennis and table tennis all of his life. He was still refereeing football matches and playing tennis into his mid 80's and obviously maintained a high standard of fitness. In his spare time he wrote a book or two, enjoyed crosswords and quizzes and entertained and comforted elderly patients in Finchley Memorial Hospital once a week. Patrick was an achiever who brightened the lives of all who knew him. He will be sorely missed on Thursday mornings at the Centre.

Roy Regler