David Cater (5 Jun 1942 - 14 Nov 2020)

In loving memory of David Cater who sadly passed away on 14th November 2020

David was born in Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire on 5th June 1942, the only son of Stanley and Iris Cater. David started teaching in 1963 and moved to Cecil Jones High School in 1972 as head of CDT where he remained until he retired in 1994. During that time, he enjoyed organising the school ski trips, putting a lot of time and effort into these annual excursions, including arranging practice sessions on dry ski slopes, preparing booklets of handy foreign phrases and skiing exercises and ensuring that there were plenty of evening activities to keep everyone entertained.

David had two children with Diana - Sarah Louise born 1984 who sadly passed away in 1989, and Daniel James born 1992. David was also step-dad to Diana's two daughters - Heather and Alison. In 2004, David met Barbara and their friendship soon blossomed into a loving relationship.

David was a keen sailor, and joined Thorpe Bay Yacht Club in the early '80s. Weekends away sailing, the Calais run and the annual 3 week summer cruise all became a huge feature of family life, courtesy of the boats 'Fenman', 'Kerrin', 'Parmelia' and 'Typhoo'. David could always be found at TBYC on a Tuesday night, pint in hand, and in the winter, if he wasn't in his garage building things for the boat, he was probably at the boat yard getting the boat ready for another season and having a sneaky beer. David was also Rear Commodore (Cruising) for TBYC twice, a position he was very proud to hold.

Apart from the yacht club and his boats, the other big love in David's life was his son Daniel. David was fully involved in everything that Daniel did, making sure that Daniel could get to all his activities around Southend and supporting Daniel in various events across the country for the Music Man Project. David's commitment to the activities being run to support adults with learning disabilities was reflected in the time and effort he put in to helping his son and also later when he became a trustee of the Music Man Project.

David was a strong, kind man with a generous soul, who always had time for anyone and was loved by all who knew him. He had a wicked sense of humour and a wealth of stories with which he always kept people entertained. He loved a round of golf, cooking, reading and listening to music. He valued his friends and family and hosted annual BBQ’s which evolved into annual dinners.

David will be greatly missed by his daughters, Heather and Alison, his son Daniel, his partner Barbara and by all those who knew him.

Please note, that unfortunately there is limited attendance at the Crematorium at this time and we will be restricted to 30 attendees including family. The funeral cortege will leave David's house at 3pm and process past TBYC going down Barrowsand and along Thorpe Bay Gardens before going to Southend Crematorium. The funeral service will be streamed live at www.obitus.com and will be available up to 28 days after the service. Please contact me for the username and password to access the funeral service via the streaming service (hlcater@yahoo.co.uk). We would like to hold a memorial service for David when Covid restrictions are fully lifted. Please let me know if you wish to attend that and I will keep you informed.