It is with great sadness we have to announce the passing of Geoff Chesworth who died on 7th November 2017 after an illness which, much to his frustration, kept him away from the Club for a number of months before he died.
Geoff has been involved with the Club since he first brought a young John, to Mini-Juniors in 1980, yes it’s his fault. Through most of the 1990s he was an ever present at 1stteam games, often travelling on the 1869 bus. One of his favourite stories was the time when after a lunch stop in Yates’s Wine Lodge in Birmingham, the supporters realised they didn’t know where Birmingham Solihull’s ground was so had to ring a taxi and the coach followed it to the ground. He was as delighted as any of the team members when Hopper got promoted in 1999. Geoff’s house, located conveniently close to Preston’s bars and clubs, was a regular boarding house for Hoppers who were lost on a Saturday evening, and he looked on with a wry smile at the bodies that would wash up on a Sunday morning.
In recent years, Geoff and his brother Don were regulars at the lunch table before home games, and much to his wife Brenda’s annoyance he said he preferred Allan’s cooking to hers. He really enjoyed those Saturday afternoons and made many good friends around the lunch table.
He will be sorely missed by Brenda, Paul, Caroline, John, Jillian and his grandchildren and I am sure many members of the Hoppers.
His funeral will take place at 12.15 on 22nd November 2017 at St Wilfrid’s Church in Preston, with a reception at the Hoppers afterwards. The family has asked that anyone wishing to make a donation in lieu of flowers please make it to St Catherine’s Hospice, you can get details from their website.
