In Memory of John (Emily Sze)

John,
Hope you can rest in peace and will always remeber your smile!

Emily SZE (Former Colleague)

UPDATE: Funeral Service for John

Dear all,

According to the wish of John, his body will be cremated and his ashes buried in the South China Sea.

We have arranged with the government to have the cremation held on 11th Novemeber (Sunday) afternoon. John's funeral will be held at Hong Kong Funeral Home 香港殯儀館 (679 Kings Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong) on the evening of the 10th and the morning of the 11th.

The actual time and proceedings of the memorial service will be annouced later.


The Organising Committee

Note and Pictures from Stuart Wilson

Reading all the tributes to John, I have been pleased to see that he was obviously as inspirational a teacher as he was a friend. As I have said elsewhere, I spent some great times over the years with John since we first met in England in 1986: he was a relaxed, droll, funny guy, full of good advice and great company.

We worked together in Sweden and then met up again later in Scotland and Italy and it was always an immense pleasure to see him. We laughed a lot, that's what I mainly remember, as well as his love of music. I was a bit younger than him and far less mature, and he was sometimes forced to take me
aside to point out that something I had done or said (usually after drinking too much) was neither clever nor cool. I always took his comments to heart.

There’s one particular moment that stands out for me: we went out for a hike one day up near Loch Ness, and were heading back down a hillside towards the monastery where I was working. John
was striding briskly ahead of me while I came down carefully. At the bottom of the hill there was a large patch of grassy field, which John sauntered casually across. I came off the hillside with a slight jump on to the grass, and sank to my knees in dense peaty mud. John heard my shout, turned round and regarded me thoughtfully.

“How on earth…?” I started to say. And then we both burst out laughing.

It was, I told him later in the pub, as if his natural grace had carried him over, while lesser men blundered. Don’t be silly, he said, or something similar. But I still believe it to be true.

Message and Photos from Susan Watts

John Watts 1951 - 2012

 

In memory of my brother

And with love.

Susan

Left: John, 1973; Right: Susan and John on Lantau, 1994; Bottom: John in his last Lantau flat

Bye (for now).

Dear Sir,
 
I'm sure you will agree with me that life is far from perfect? Aren't we supposed to meet today to talk about 'things'? Had Mr. Mak not called me after fulfilling your outrageous request on a portion of fish and chips on Wednesday, I would have visited you that evening!

Alas, perhaps it works out better for us this way, saving you from seeing my teary face! I asked myself repeatedly, 'What were you supposed to talk to me about?'

My first thought was that you wanted to give me your classical collection, having seen how my eyeballs were fixated on your discs whenever I was at your place(s)! I would have welcomed that with both arms but it is nothing compared to the priceless knowledge you had embarked on me throughout the past 17 years. For one, you taught me how to write (with no disrespect to my other English teachers). In our post Raimondi encounters, you have enlightened me on subjects as varied as Hooliganism, Hampton Treatment Works, British Politics, European History, Camp Craft, Language, Hi-fi, Persian Carpets, Girls from Belilios Public School, Girls from Sweden and (Stupid) Girls from California at that Canadian Hostel.

My second thought was that you wanted to discuss the specifics about the Big Reunion. I feel honoured that you have picked me to coordinate on the Raimondian end, and do not worry, Sir, the Big Reunion is in good hands. It’s amazing that less than 24 hours after you left us, this site has cramped up 2,500+ views. I’m sure that you will have a lot of company when the day comes!

Sir, from all the comments on Facebook and here, it is evident that you have changed the lives for the better of so many, including mine. Your departure may have been agonisingly premature, but your legacy has lived on – through the thousands of students who will eternally be grateful for the marks you left on their lives.

Bye (for now).

 

Tommy Chiu (96 – S4A, 97 – S5A)


Photo taken at the former Governor's House during the AYP Gold Award Ceremony for Edwin, Edward and Chu in 2000

From left: Edwin Jeu, Mr. Mak, Mr. Watts, Tommy Chiu, Edward Mo,  Law Kwok Chu

Note and Pictures from Gary Ma

Our Dearest Teacher Mr Watts,

You are our anchor to keep us growing without fear of waves. You are our torch to show us the way of bright. You are our great teacher forever, we learned how to be delighted with music and photography from you. We would like to attend your lesson, to listen your story, to share our lives, etc. We love you and we will meet and listen your music performance in paradise eventually. Rest in Peace.

Best wishes,
Gary MA

Photos taken in 1996 (Form 7)

  

 

Samson, Herbert and Ivan with John (2011 Winter)

Photo submitted from Samson Tong  (Raimondi College Class 1996)

From left: Samson, John, Herbert and Ivan

26 October 2012

John passed away peacfully at Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society Cancer Rehab Centre in Wong Chuk Hang this morning at 3:00 am.

You are welcome to leave your tribute to John (or to most of us Mr. Watts) on this site.

Should you wish to share some old photos with John on this site, please send an email with the photos and your message that you wish to appear on this site to wattsjohndavid@gmail.com and one of the administrators will help you post them on the site.