1947 - 2020Harold Stuart Ham 1947 - 2020
On Tuesday 6th of October, the Ham family sent Stuart off on his final journey. Many friends and family lined the main street in Foxearth to pay respects to a long-standing village boy. Rain was forecast but the clouds parted for Stuart, ‘The sun shines on the righteous’ comes to mind.
Many from our community and neighbouring villages will have known Stuart. He has been an integral part of the Village all his life (since 1947) when his mother and father (Myra and Harold) ran the village shop from Farthings. Stuart was the youngest of three, with two older sisters (Angela and Sonia) to help raise him and keep their mischievous little brother in line. Stuart grew up and attended Foxearth school as a little boy, before going on to Sudbury Secondary Modern for boys, to which he would journey on his Bantam bike, making a good racket. After school, at age 16, Stuart embarked on a trip to Canada to live with his eldest sister and her husband; he loved the adventures, freedom and magnificent countryside that Canada had to offer. Stuart could have stayed and lived in Ontario, a life that might have suited him quite well, but alas, his heart was in our sweet village of Foxearth and he hadn’t wanted his mother to be lonely, so he returned to live out the rest of his days happily in the village.
In 1972 Stuart decided to become his own boss, creating his own Architectural business that he ran from his home at Farthings. Stuart had a love for old architecture and created an excellent reputation for himself, a hard worker and a perfectionist. Stuart never switched over to digital designing and continued to use vintage equipment and drew plans by hand until his retirement in 2010. His love for the ‘old’ transcended into many parts of his life, including his classic cars, collections of antique items, farming equipment, military memorabilia and, of course, his home in Foxearth. A real country boy with plenty of knowledge of times gone by.
Stuart first met Sally in 1974 at The Pinkuah Arms, where she lived and worked, and would often frequent the establishment, making himself known by the sound of the Lotus 7 grumbling into the car park. Time passed and Stuart got the girl, and married Sally in 1980. They stuck together like glue for a further 40 years and proceeded to raise their family of three, James, Charlotte and Jenny, and later, grandchild, Lexie. Together they gave their children a classic country upbringing, the children played in the same fields, walked the same walls and explored the same paths Stuart had as a boy, eating fresh food from Stuarts allotment that Sally would cook up into a tasty storm.
Stuart had a life well lived, and was always happy and contended with the life he had made with Sally in Foxearth. Many of you will have seen this within his smile and wave that he would so often offer up to people walking past the house as he tended to his garden or read the paper. Stuart was a man who was always welcoming and kind to friends and to strangers. People couldn’t help but like him or love him.
By way of tribute to Stuart, the family have been raising money for the planting of trees within Foxearth. Stuart was the tree warden from 1987, and would often drive along, pointing out which trees he had planted along our roads. A fitting way to honour Stuart and the village he loved so much.
Jenny Ham