We asked the question in our last newsletter, if anyone remembered Mike Tehan. He was one of our first youth sailing trainers and a local high school teacher.
Anyway, one of our members remembered him and gave us a little bit of background to this lovely man.
Yes, indeed I remember Mike Tehan. Or Brian Michael Tehan. Born in Oldham, Lancashire, one of three boys. His father a local doctor who was Irish born.
I first met Mike on an evening at my son Matthew’s chosen Secondary School the now defunct Deben High School in what would have been late August 1980. It was an open evening for all the parents.
The following Sunday I attended St Felix Catholic Church where we are parishioners, sitting in proximity I noticed this man who I didn’t recognise at first, he said hello and then we got chatting and from then on, he became one of many friends here in Felixstowe.
From time to time as we got to know him better he came up to our many gatherings including barbecues in our garden.
My 50th Birthday in November 1990 was hosted by the late Dorothy and Damian Reilly on their houseboat Nore, Mike was amongst the guests there that evening.
In the latter half of 2005 he was diagnosed with cancer, he continued to come up on Christmas Eve as he would before making his way over to Harleston on Christmas morning for the rest of Christmas although the following year he was quite unwell and came up to us for Christmas dinner as he couldn’t face the journey.
His annual festive jaunts to Harleston saw him visit family of a friend of his from his days as a Squadron Leader in the Royal Air Force.
In July 2009 he was initially admitted briefly to Ipswich Hospital where my son Matthew and myself visited him feeding him his Sunday roast as he was quite weak in order to do this himself.
Then he was admitted to St Elizabeth Hospice where he saw out his days passing away at St Elizabeth Hospice on 21st July 2009.
The following November FFSC were launching 2 boats which included the boat pictured in which I was invited to launch it and had also had a plaque for the boat which sat outside the club in his memory before it had to be removed from that area. Robert Wright kindly gave me the plaque back I had made for it which now sits in our garden with a rose plant in his memory.
His memory and indeed legacy of his involvement with FFSC lives on
Matthew Reeve
On Behalf of Sandra Reeve
