Jack Jeffery obituary

My father, Jack Jeffery, who has died aged 87, was a chemist and water purity expert who came from a family strongly rooted in pacifism, secularism and socialism. He taught his children the value of strong opinions and vigorous debate.The only child of Philip Jeffery, a plasterer and school caretaker, and his wife, Elsie (nee Carr), he was born and brought up in Clough Dene, a hamlet in Co Durham. Jack shared his father's passions for literature and cricket. He played the piano from the age of 11. When he was 18, he saw Duke Ellington at the City Hall in Newcastle. Later, wherever he went, Jack sought out live jazz - a conference in Stockholm was once eclipsed by the chance to see Woody Herman and his Herd. Continue reading...