Christopher Anthony Cornish-Lawrence (23 Aug 1957 - 10 May 2018)

In loving memory of Dr Christopher Anthony Cornish-Lawrence who sadly passed away on 10th May 2018, aged 60 years. Fondly known as 'Chris' His service will take place in the East Chapel. No flowers requested please.

Donations, in lieu of flowers can be made in Chris's memory and will go to benefit the work of two charities:
'Diabetes UK' & 'Beating Bowel Cancer' and can be made by cheque payable to your chosen charity with your name and address written on the back and sent directly to John Weir Funeral Directors, 25 New Road, Chatham, Kent.ME4 4QJ or can be made online.

It is so typical of Chris that he wanted to be prepared and share his story, so that very soon after his diagnosis of advanced cancer, he wrote his own biography and planned for the funeral service that he wanted people to share. No-one could do really do justice in reading the biography that Chris prepared so there will be copies available at the end of the service and at the reception so that you can read it in Chris’s own words.

Chris always excelled academically, from achieving 12 O-levels at age 14, 4 grade A A-levels at age 16, a first class honours degree in Chemistry and a PhD from Cambridge. Never one to rest on his laurels, Chris continued his studies throughout his working life and studied for a Diploma in Management Studies, gained membership of the Institute of Managers and the Managers Certificate in IT Service Management.

His early academic success enabled him to take a gap year before university where he worked in the Chemistry Research Laboratories for Wellcome. This was to be an introduction to the company where he spent the majority of his working life, choosing a career away from the laboratory bench and making a successful career in computing where he would work directly or indirectly for the next 33 years. Chris was always proud of his association with Wellcome and would joke that there were still little blue unicorns in his blood even after the various company mergers which saw Wellome become Glaxo Wellcome and then Glaxo Smith Kline. It was whilst at Wellcome that Chris was approached to become a scientific advisor for Kent County Council which involved planning for civilian safety in the event of a major disaster including a nuclear attack. It was also at Wellcome that Chris met his future wife Tracy.

Chris had an interest in politics from an early age. He was elected President of the Cambridge Graduate Society and after university became involved in local politics. He served as a councillor and never one to shun responsibly, was the chairman of the Finance committee during the stormy introduction of the Poll Tax or Community Charge. He also served as a school governor for a local junior and grammar school. Chris and Tracy had their first evening out together when Councillor Chris Cornish invited Tracy, as a Rochester resident, to the 1990 Mayor Making Ceremony. It is lovely that Chris was remembered in the Mayoral announcements for the incoming Mayor this year.

Chris hadn’t always been confident in social situations and in his teens had joined a youth drama group. He resumed amateur dramatics with both the Wellcome and Valley Players when he first started work. It was also around this time that he became a motorcycle driving instructor, having ridden a motorbike during his university days before he could afford a car.

Chris enjoyed cricket and though he acknowledged that he wasn’t one of the best players, he played a total of 200 matches for the Ravensbourne Vagabonds Cricket club over 16 years and acted as secretary, statistician, club captain and treasurer before the club closed through lack of members. It was a fitting tribute that following his death, friends raised a jar of fine ale in his honour after their cricket match.

Chris married Tracy in 1991. Their honeymoon was spent in a castle in Scotland to which they returned several times, the last occasion to celebrate the year of their Silver Wedding. They enjoyed luxury travel and were pleased to experience travel on the QE2, Concorde and the Orient Express. For Chris’s 50th Birthday they took a half world cruise to New Zealand which enabled Chris to visit Fiji and the base where his father had been posted during his time in the New Zealand air force.

Chris and Tracy bought a house together in Chatham the year after their marriage and have lived there ever since. The garden has two flourishing greenhouses which have helped to provide the plants for the two allotments that were such an important part of Chris’s life.

Never being one to sit back and watch other people struggle to organise themselves, Chris stepped in and sat on the allotment committee for almost 11 years, 4 of them as chairman. However, eventually it was time for “new blood” to take over, and he stepped down from the day-to-day organisation of the allotment committee.

This interest led to him researching the history of Medway allotment sites so he became a frequent visitor to the Medway archives and gave several talks to local groups on the subject.

Chris also spent a significant time researching his family history and extended the line of Cornish ancestors back from 1798 to the late 1680’s; as well as tracing several other family lines of people marrying into his family.
Chris was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in his early twenties and never let it hinder him from living a full life. He took the same approach when first diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2000. The second occurrence in 2017 was already advanced when it was diagnosed and he was grateful for the caring and compassionate support of the medical staff at the Genesis Care oncology centre. In January 2018 Chris underwent complex major surgery, but although the cancer was removed, his body just couldn’t recover sufficiently to support him. He died on 10th May following excellent care and attention at Kings College Hospital.

Chris did not consistently have a lot of physical energy, but he thrived in an environment where his mental faculties, planning and anticipation could be applied. He loved solving puzzles, and although hopeless at cryptic crosswords, he thoroughly enjoyed tackling Sudoku – the more extreme, the better.

You, who are reading this, hopefully will have shared in some of the facets of Chris’s fairly full and varied life. There are sure to be anecdotes and stories of your own memories of Chris – I am sure he would wish that you will share them with one another, so that the world may be a better and more enjoyable place for his living.