2024 01 Spring with bleed V4 - Flipbook - Page 18
Rod Whittaker
Remembered by his daughters
Cathy No matter how quiet and reserved my father
seemed, he always had a tale of adventure to share
whether it was crawling around our tent protecting
us from the hippos who had come out to graze by
Lake Baringo in Kenya or bashing through jungle facing poisonous snakes
and unhappy tribesmen in West Africa to access the reservoir for his new
project, or stepping through farm yards in his business attire to meet
Suzanne9s newly gifted lamb after which, much to his amused annoyance,
the soles of his shoes fell off. My father9s adventures began when he was
drafted into national service in Malaya (now the peninsula of Malaysia)
where he was tasked with building bridges as a member of the Corp of
Royal Engineers. His decision to become an engineer came when his
father told him that artists rarely made a decent living, and so he enrolled
in Brighton Tech to pursue a career in civil engineering - a career that
spanned more than 3 decades, which signiocantly broadened his horizons
and saw him jetting off overseas to lovely hot places. His career as a highly
respected engineer was a testament to his sense of adventure,
determination and resilience.
Suzanne I would describe my father as a gentle man with a great capacity
to love, live and laugh. It warms my heart to think of the partnership that
was MegRod (one word). They shared their hopes and dreams for
adventure over their morning cups of tea in bed, as well as plans for the
next project on their current house. A hard act to
follow but important to know that this kind of
connection to another is possible. I also like to
remember my father9s love of Range Rovers.
Although I would have only been 4 or 5 I have
clear memories of the blue Range Rover we had in
Costa Rica, setting off from San Jose to drive to
Samara beach before any main roads were built or
bridges across the numerous rivers we had to
cross. Somehow the combination of my father at
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