John Crocker 1951-2004
John was born in Luton but grew up mainly in Kent. He went
to Sevenoaks School then, at 16 won an Exhibition to King's
College Cambridge to read medicine. He specialised in Pathology
and became a Consultant at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital.
He combined a busy career as a diagnostician with extensive
research, which led first to an MD then an honorary Chair
in Molecular Pathology at Birmingham University. He published
papers, wrote books and was a gifted lecturer and teacher.
His wish was to understand malignancy at a chemical level
and he made an important contribution to the founding of molecular
medicine as a specialty.
He was a true polymath, erudite in many subjects - cosmology,
particle physics, 20th century literature, fine art and music.
He had a great sense of fun and loved fireworks, model rockets,
gadgets, photography and computers. He was generous, thoughtful
and friendly to everyone and a devoted husband and father.
His interest in geology began in his teens. It combined his
fascination for chemistry with his love of colour and beauty.
His first purchase at 15 was piece of petrified tree. He collected
steadily over a period of 30 years and had a special love
of tourmaline. He loved to share his enthusiasm with others
- especially children - and tours of his minerals were always
popular with visitors. His collection comprised around 550
specimens chosen for beauty, chemical interest or even quirkiness!
He knew them well and could tell their provenance without
the labels. They lined the shelves in the study where he liked
to read and listen to music and were very much part of his
everyday life.
John's sudden and premature death at 53 left a huge gap in
the lives of family, friends and colleagues. The world is
a much duller place without him.
The collection is now to be dispersed, although we have kept some pieces with special memories and associations. I hope that the new owners will find as much interest, satisfaction and sheer joy in collecting as did John
Kate Crocker |
