Newark Rugby Club life member and Collingham resident John Harris dies at the age of 92
Newark Rugby Club life member John Harris has died at the age of 92.
His family described him as being a quiet, thoughtful man who was passionate about sports and gardening.
John was born on March 10, 1930, in Grantham and attended the King’s School.
He moved to a farm at North Muskham, which is when his association with Newark and Newark Rugby Club began in 1948.
He later left farming in the mid 1950s and went to work for his father at the Newark branch of Midland Builders’ Merchant Co in Cow Lane where Aldi is now.
John was a passionate gardener from his teenage years during the war. He kept his mother supplied with fruit and vegetables, rabbit meat, and chicken from the allotment next to the house during the years of rationing.
John bought his cottage in Collingham in 1969 which featured a large garden.
He continued with his love of gardening and kept his mother and sister supplied with produce until he was in his late 70s.
John was a member of the Collingham District Gardening Association.
John captained the Newark Rugby Club and was a tireless volunteer.
He played as a prop for the club up until the early 1960s.
He was a keyholder to the Kelham Road clubhouse for over 40 years.
The club said he contributed heavily to the development of the first clubhouse on the site in the 1950s.
John's work on the clubhouse is recorded in the club's history booklet 'Newark Rugby across three centuries'.
When John retired from work in 1995 he discovered another passion - lawn bowls - which saw him playing for North Scarle Bowls Club as well as Newark Indoor Bowls.
He loved classical music and opera and going to the theatre, as well as watching sports, particularly rugby and cricket.
He had a brother, Paul, and a sister, Beryl, Beryl survives him at 95 years of age.
