John David Meads (1 Oct 1951 - 1 Apr 2019)

Watching the 'miracle of Anfield' this evening took me back to the 2005 'miracle of Istanbul', which I was fortunate to enjoy in the company of John. Alex and I were watching the football in the lounge, whilst a 'save the church' or similar meeting, of which John was part, was taking place in the dining room. As the Liverpool fightback took shape and the noise levels rose John was soon slipping away from the meeting to keep tabs on the clearly very much more interesting proceedings in Turkey.

John was a very interesting man and I enjoyed discussing politics, social history and political thought with him. He was the Labour candidate for Rutland and Melton in the 1997 General Election and did very well, getting around 30% of the vote. He was an ardent and committed socialist; a man of great ideals and values and very good at refuting any counter-argument from the other side of the political fence :-)

It was a privilege to know John; he has been taken from us far too young. My condolences to Janette and David.

John will always have a very special place in my heart and memory. The brother I never had and the friend I will miss so much. Your presence will live on through all those who were fortunate enough to know you.
Janette, you and John built a good life together and both you and John were a pleasure to be around. Treasured memories of John, however many more to be made with you in the future
David,if ever there was a sons tribute to his dad that summed him up exactly it was yours. I missed an opportunity to honour your dad through you by not following my heart and standing up to applaud your obvious love and acknowledgement of him It was so accurate and endearing. Your a credit to him.
God bless
Treasured memories of John.

Jannette & David; Words cannot express the sorrow we feel with the passing of someone as special as John. We have so many good memories of trips back and forth "across the pond" and the other little jaunts in between. We pray that you find comfort in all the joyful memories we have shared and knowing that he will remain in our hearts forever.

"Those we love don't go away,
they walk beside us every day,
unseen, unheard, but always near,
still loved, still missed and very dear"
unknown

with all our love,
Uncle Myron, Carolyne, Roslyne & Grant, Irene & Joey

I'm so sorry for your loss Janette. I'm afraid I cannot come to John's funeral due to family commitments but my thoughts are with you every day. Much love, Lucy

I am very sorry to hear the sad news regarding John. I have very fond memories of many happy years playing croquet together on the lawns of Southport and in the Inter County Championships for the Northern Counties team. Please Janette and David, accept the condolences of myself and my wife Amanda and please stay in touch, We are unfortunately not able to come to the funeral, nevertheless John will always occupy a fond place in our hearts. Rest forever in peace, John.

I first met John the day after he and Janette had moved in to become our neighhbours. I had taken them some flowers to welcome them. Janette was out but John was in the garage surrounded by open boxes. He was in such a tizz and said that he could not find anything to put a bed together with, I told him to come and raid our shed, I was sure that Trevor would find what he needed and thus our friendship began. Such a lovely man with a great sense of humour, and very clever, the four of us, together with Deirdre, our other neighbour, became the "Rauceby Drovers" at The Bustard quiz night, with the help of John we actually won a couple of times.
My husband, Trevor greatly enjoyed political conversations with John, although both having completely opposite views, the discussions were always very friendly and Trevor will miss this so much. We lost you too soon John, may you rest in peace. We will always be here for our dear friend Janette and also for David.

We moved to South Rauceby weeks before John and Janette and, as we were next door neighbours , soon became friends . We couldn’t have wished for nicer neighbours. John was a gentleman, clever and full of fun. He and Janette joined us, along with our other next door neighbours to form our quiz team at the Bustard.... and with him on our side we won a couple of times ... He was easy to talk to and especially helpful to me when I became widowed in 2017, helping with documentation at any time I needed it.
I shall miss his cheery smile and camaraderie, as will we all. It’s been such a shock to lose him so soon.... rest assured John - we will look out for Janette and David as you have done for me. RIP John it was an honour to know you.

John was so much part of village life for such a long time in Redmile; he served for many years on the parish council and I always found him very fair and very knowledgeable on all village issues - when I was Church warden we worked together to help facilitate the continuation of St Peters when it was threatened with closure and he was a pleasure to work with and I was pleased to have him as a friend and colleague. He also worked tirelessly with all of us on the village plan I know he and Janette were very pleased and excited when they retired to the Sleaford area and it is very sad that he has been taken from Janette and David so soon when he and they deserved to have many years of peaceful retirement together.

Our sincere condolences

Simon, April and Benedict Foote