Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Blue is the colour at Del’s funeral
The life of a popular builder who died suddenly last month has been remembered during a fitting send-off.
Hundreds of friends and family – many dressed in Chelsea colours – gathered at Barham crematorium on Thursday to say a final farewell to Del Jones.
Even the vicar wore blue as he spoke to a chapel packed to the rafters with those who knew the 42-year-old groundworker, who grew up in Sturry.
Quick to mention Del’s favourite pastime, the Rev Ted Fisher said: “He spent a lot of time with friends in his favourite venue… the pub.”
At the Rodney’s in North Street, Herne Bay, is where Del would often be found, spreading his infectious personality to a “huge circle of friends who became extended family”.
His coffin, draped in a Chelsea flag, was brought into the chapel to the sounds of the club anthem, Blue is the Colour.
But it was the next song – the Monty Python version of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – which proved the perfect tribute to a man who always smiled.
“What comes into your mind when you think of Del?” asked Mr Fisher. “His happy-golucky attitude to everything he did, his distinctive laugh or that cheeky smile that never left his face?”
Del grew up the youngest of four brothers in Mccarthy Avenue, Sturry.
He went to the local primary school before going to what was then the Frank Montgomery grant maintained school, now Spires Academy.
Mr Fisher said: “Del got up to much mischief as a younger lad with his three brothers, David, Christopher and Matt. Nothing much changed as they grew up.
“He was always talking about his nan, whom he admired greatly. He used to visit often with his beloved dog, Angel.
“Del and Spencer, his lifelong friend and workmate, enjoyed holidays and working together for many years.
“How they got any work done with the amount of jokes and pranks they played, nobody knows.”
Speaking shortly after Del’s death on January 22, Spencer Davis said: “He didn’t have a bad bone in his body and was liked by all.
“If I needed a hand doing anything Del would be there without batting an eyelid.
“We always had such a laugh at work, playing pranks on each other and normally going straight to the pub afterwards for a few beers – sometimes more than a few.”
And it was at the Rodney’s where glasses were raised and stories of Del shared late into the evening.
Del had been drinking at the same pub the night before his body was discovered at his home in Victoria Park, Herne Bay, on the afternoon of Sunday, January 22.
A post-mortem to discover the cause of his death proved inconclusive, with an inquest set to be heard.