Rod was born on 7th April 1957, in the town of Rugby, the first child of Alan and Nora. At the age of three he was joined by a sister, Christina, known to her family as Tina. Rod’s initial concern about the new arrival dissipated when he found that the baby was accompanied by a big, red, toy fire engine. Rod and Tina grew up in Rugby, the youngest of a large extended family. He grew up in Alwyn Road and attended Bilton Primary School. He then won a bursary to attend Rugby School as a “day boy”, an achievement which made his parents tremendously proud. His father, Alan, introduced him to model railways, bringing back model engines from business trips to Germany and Switzerland. This hobby became a lifelong passion for Rod, turning into a massive collection of models, books and magazines kept in its own dedicated “Railway Room” at Rod and Carolyn’s house. At Rugby School, Rod became a proficient rugby player, and joined the Air Force Cadets. In his final year at Rugby School, he was chosen as Head of Town House. Rod won a place at Imperial College London to study Mechanical Engineering, but deferred in order to take a gap year. During this year he spent six months working in South Africa as a travelling stationery salesman. This was a formative experience, developing his independent nature and also love of travel and wildlife. At University, he joined the University Air Squadron and learnt how to fly small Jet-Propellor planes through their pilot training programme. He quickly fell in love with flying and decided that he wanted to become a pilot in the Royal Air Force. These hopes were dashed when, at the age of 21 he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, a condition that affected the rest of his life. After graduating with a BSc and not sure of his next steps, he took an MSc in Nuclear Engineering. In 1980 he joined the Graduate Training programme at the National Nuclear Corporation, later NNC, at their site in Whetstone, Leicester, working on the Sizewell B PWR project as a Nuclear Safety Engineer. He enjoyed various sporting activities including football, golf and running, completing the London Marathon in 4 ½ hours in 1982. Rod met Carolyn when she joined NNC in 1983. After their first date in June 1984 - an ascent of Snowdon - romance quickly developed and they married in her home town of Leeds on 23rd February 1985. Rod and Carolyn initially lived in a small house in Lutterworth, but in 1986 NNC closed its offices in Leicester and they moved up to Knutsford, buying the house at 81 Ashworth Park, where they still live today. Rod joined the workplace Canute Mountaineering Club, and was a stalwart of the work Squash League and Canute Badminton Club. In July 1987, Rod’s mother died suddenly of a heart attack. This was a great shock to all the family. Rod was a great support to his father and sister at this time. In 1990, the opportunity arose to take jobs in Canada, and Rod and Carolyn moved to Deep River in Ontario. There they spent a happy 7 ½ years working for the Canadian nuclear company, AECL, on a project to upgrade the NRU research reactor. Rod made the most of the beautiful Ontario outdoors, taking up both downhill and cross-country skiing and playing lots of golf at the Deep River golf club, making many good friends. The couple also indulged their love of walking and mountain scenery, visiting the Canadian Rockies, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon. On 21st May 1995, their daughter Bethany was born – characteristically Rod was on a golf course at the time and completely missed the event. He was a proud father and enjoyed introducing his new daughter to his love of the outdoors, on one occasion spending a whole weekend constructing an adventure snow park for her in the back garden. In 1998 Rod and Carolyn decided to move back to the UK to be closer to family. They were able to return to 81 Ashworth Park in Knutsford, and rejoined NNC, which subsequently became AMEC. Many of you here today will know Rod from the last 25 years of his life in Knutsford, as a work colleague or friend from golf. Rod moved into working on defence projects, perhaps most notably the safety analysis for the infamous Shiplift at Faslane. He was known as a colourful character who brightened up even the most miserable day in the office. He had a healthy disregard for management, demonstrated by the “Bullshit” detector alarm that he kept on his desk, but was highly regarded for his technical expertise and the generous way in which he shared that with colleagues. These years were spent enjoying family life and his hobbies, playing squash and badminton and of course golf, joining Peover Golf Club and later High Legh Golf Club. He shared his love of rollercoasters with his daughter Bethany and they took several trips to Alton Towers and Blackpool over the years. They eventually achieved a personal record of 6 consecutive trips on the Pepsi Max “Big One” at Blackpool, until Bethany developed motion sickness. Rod was immensely proud when Bethany graduated from the University of York with a 1st in History. Rod was very fond of animals having grown up with several dogs - Jingle, Ben and Jason - and cats - Timmy and Jasper. He would talk very affectionately to the Alsop family cats – Nathan - and more recently, Albie, when he thought no-one was listening. Rod and Carolyn retired in summer of 2017 and that November spent a wonderful month travelling around New Zealand. Subsequent holidays often involved scenic railway routes. A second trip to New Zealand had to be cancelled when he fell off a ladder at home, breaking four ribs and two vertebrae. He was much teased about this incident as a retired Safety Engineer. In September 2020 Rod had the first indications of heart problems with the onset of angina. In April 2021, Rod’s sister, Tina, tragically died of a sudden heart attack. Rod was a tremendous support to his father, Alan, over the next 2 ½ years. Rod suffered his first heart attack on the golf course in April 2022 and was saved by his golf partners who administered CPR. After successful angioplasty, over the next 18 months he lived life to the full, playing as much golf as possible, travelling round the country to attend model railway exhibitions, and taking holidays through the Swiss Alps, Scotland, Northumberland and the Lake District. When he died suddenly, he was on holiday with his brother-in-law, Jonathan, and sister-in-law, Sue, with Carolyn at his side. The family are comforted that he made the most of the extra time he was given and that he was unaware of what was happening at the end. Rod was plagued by health problems throughout his adult life but he never let it get in the way. On one occasion, in Canada, he was delighted to be transported to hospital by helicopter. He loved mountains, nature, animals, golf, and, of course, steam engines and model railways. He had a wicked sense of humour, which many of you will remember. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
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