MISSING . . .
THE DAILY MAIL offers readers a unique opportunity to re-establish contact with long-lost relatives and friends. Each week, MONICA PORTER features the story of someone trying to find a missing loved one, as well as a tale of people reunited. This column is produced in conjunction with the voluntary tracing service, Searching For A Memory, run by Gill and John Whitley. KATHERINE WHITTLE (formerly Davies) is in search of her old friend and dentistry colleague, Chris Cox.
She tells us: ‘Chris arrived in Stockport, Cheshire, in 1974 as area dental officer and was a charismatic and inspirational team leader.
‘His compassion, enthusiasm and innovation revolutionised dental care for children and adults with special needs and greatly improved their lives.
‘I felt privileged when he asked me to be the dentist to carry out this rewarding work. It was the happiest time in my career.
‘He was also a great friend. He knew I was looking to move house with my two little girls and when he spotted an 18th- century cottage in a hamlet in the Peak District, he arranged a viewing for me.
‘My children and I fell in love with it and I offered the vendor the asking price. But there were others in a race to buy it, and it was only through Chris’s intervention that the vendor chose to sell to me. We spent many happy years in our cosy home.
‘I changed jobs ten years later, moved away and remarried. I lost touch with Chris after that.
‘After leaving Stockport, I taught students from Manchester Dental School, passing on my knowledge about treating patients with disabilities, which Chris and I had developed. I was later promoted to medical director in Salford Community Trust.
‘I am now 75, retired and enjoying life with my husband and our eight grandchildren. Friends and former colleagues have asked me where Chris is now and I don’t know.
‘Can you help?’