In early August 2024 our colleague and friend John Sutcliffe was admitted to Calderdale Royal with acute liver and kidney failure and long standing heart failure. We are sorry to say that John passed away in the early hours of 21st of August. His passing was thankfully painless.
John was a well liked and irreplaceable member of our team at the Makery. He will be greatly missed.
Picture: John on a typical day in the Makery workshop – fixing the motor of a vacuum cleaner with a cup of coffee at hand.
The following tributes have been collected from Makery volunteers and wider members who knew him from his regular volunteering at the Workshop.
There is also this tribute from Cath Holder, a friend of John for 50 years +
Thank you for all your wonderful comments about John,he was godfather to all my boys. He was a unique character and we used to say’ if John cannot mend it no one can’. However I would like to thank all of you for making John so welcome and giving him a purpose in his week as deep down he was lonely especially after his brother’s death. I had to move away to care for my mum and before that we went out weekly for a meal and he was good to me after my husband passed away. There will be an empty seat in our house this Christmas. So again thank you all, you gave him as much as he gave you.
John, nearest the camera, in the Makery workshop on a busy Saturday morning session.
| Your name | |
| Elaine | John was a fascinating character. I am glad he found us at the Makery not because he was the best fixer ever but because he was a lovely kind man, so knowledgeable. We will all miss him terribly. I hope he enjoyed his time with us as we did with him. |
| Ged | Dedicated, hard working, reliable, persevering, kind, knowledgeable. A sad loss for the Makery specifically and humanity generally. |
| Mick | I really liked that John knew what he really wanted from the Makery ang got a lot out of it and was a very determined character. I enjoyed introducing the people he fixed things for to him to thank him. A legend of fixing!. |
| Anna | John was such an interesting person to have known- he was quite simply the ” man who could fix anything” mechanical or electrical and he had endless patience with technology. He was always the first person in the Makery on Monday mornings and I used to look forward to having a chat with him before work started. He told us of his many travels in northern europe and sweden in particular, where he’d visited old friends in the last year. I remember him taking great delight in showing us some Scandinavian text which he translated with ease. Also his very useful tips for finding one’s way through Schilpol airport which were very helpful ! I remember him bringing in copies of a short book he’d written on his subject of medical physics … a very interesting/ lively read and also him telling us about the science talks he gave in local schools which he enjoyed immensely. All in all he was a most remarkable man and he will be sadly missed by us all… RIP John |
| Nicola | John was a singularly inspirational volunteer and integral to the Makery with prolific skills, energy and enthusiasm in repairing countless electricals for the community. He was a fascinating and kind man, the twinkle in his eyes I will miss enormously. |
| Caroline | I’ll miss John too and very sad to hear he has died. He found our kind and welcoming place and we found his great knowledge and expertise.He had friends around the world and enjoyed hosting his friend from France earlier in the year.Somehow we got talking about atomic research in Europe and the USSR, a man with a very wide-ranging knowledge and interests.As other folk have said, he was always determined to make things work and we valued his skills. |
| Ruth | Sad to hear of John’s passing. He was a kind and generous gentleman with his time and knowledge at the Makery. He helped to fix the telescope that belonged to my late father. I’m ever grateful for this gift of service. John shared his knowledge and stories with me of his time spent in observatories and fixing and building telescopes in his past. I could’ve spent hours longer than we did chatting about these topics! I’ll think of your generosity and remember the importance of continuing to share ourselves with the world and community every time I look through the telescope! Much love. Ruth |
| Daz | I always found John’s expertise invaluable when I came across an electrical issue, he will be sorely missed by everyone at the Makery, and beyond. RiP John |
| Tom | I’ve rarely been to a session at the Makery without John there….the smell of soldering iron, the drip of some oil or other, and an orderly chaos of dismembered mechanical parts dancing around a cup of coffee on the worktop. I am deeply grateful for the pop-up conversations with John about how a bike light works, some nuance of atmospheric physics, or how to engage school children in innovative science. A man in service of so many…keeping landfill’s emptier, and peoples electrical items whirring. If there were ever to be a statue built in John’s memory out of all the things he’s repaired it would be a mile high and made out of vacuum cleaners, radios, lamps and toasters (to name but a few)! A fitting dedication to an extraordinary human. |
| Liz | John came regularly to the Makery and worked tirelessly but happy doing repairs. He always did his best apart of the team volunteering and such amazing knowledge of all sorts. It goes without saying he was one of a kind. |
| Fran | John was a mine of information and a repairer Extraordinaire! As well as having interesting views on a lot of topics.He was always very appreciative of the cakes I brought in and I will miss his delight in looking to see what I had brought. He will be remembered for a long time. |
| Helen D | I am very sorry to hear this news but I’m glad that he is being remembered and to acknowledge his presence, talents and generosity in this way. I remember how he took each object seriously and did his best for them. |
| Cath HolderFriend of John 50 years + | Thank you for all your wonderful comments about John,he was godfather to all my boys. He was a unique character and we used to say’ if John cannot mend it no one can’. However I would like to thank all of you for making John so welcome and giving him a purpose in his week as deep down he was lonely especially after his brother’s death. I had to move away to care for my mum and before that we went out weekly for a meal and he was good to me after my husband passed away. There will be an empty seat in our house this Christmas.So again thank you all,you gave him as much as he gave you. |