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Eulogy

John, Dad, and affectionately Bongo to his grandchildren,  great-grandchildren and others.

He was the elder son to Jessie and Russel Shinner, born in Thorpe Bay, Essex in 1930. His life’s journey began in Essex, with a happy early childhood, mostly spent in his garden, playing with his brother Peter.

In 1940, at the age of 9, John and Peter were shipped to Ottawa, Canada, as World War II started. It was a time of great uncertainty and long separation from his parents, with his father captured and held as a prisoner of war for 4 years by the Japanese. Despite these hardships, John and Peter enjoyed their time with their Aunt Edna and cousin Jo, who was litke a sister to them. They found solace and joy in the Canadian outdoors, learning to ski, play ice hockey, and canoeing on the Canadian lakes. John fondly told us stories of learning to ski with leather boots, blunt edged wooden skis and having to climb up the hills to ski down them. 

Returning to England in 1944 at the end of the war, John discovered a lifelong passion for rugby at Stowe School. His love for the sport continued as he joined the Dorking Rugby Club in 1948, forming friendships that lasted a lifetime and remained a member for 76 years.

After completing two years of National Service, at the age of 20, John found himself working as a casual laborer on fruit farms in Kent. It was here that he realized his true calling in life - growing. This led him to Seale Hayne Agricultural College in Devon, where he formed great friendships with Jim and Jill Hosking. The Hosking family became an integral part of the Shinner family life, with many holidays spent together in Cornwall. And those friendships continue down through the generations.

John's life took a delightful turn when he met Wendy, my Granny, on a skiing holiday in the early 1950s. Their meeting was serendipitous. The story goes that they met up in one of the evenings full of wine and entertainment and they both decided it would be even more fun if they slipped under the table and tied the shoelaces of all the other guests together! Their meeting led to a wedding in 1955 and a long and loving marriage.  Wendy, a talented artist and dress designer, supported John's dream of farming, and together they bought Priory Farm in 1957. It was a leap of faith, but they made it their home, growing crops and raising a family with their children Melanie, Nic, and Anthony.

They started with arable and sheep farming, later branching out into chickens. In 1968, the first pigs were bought, and in the following years, John became a widely recognized specialist pig breeder, with award-winning pigs!

John’s greatest love was growing. He had read about strawberry growing and pick-your-own farms in America and in 1969, he planted his first acre of strawberries.   Priory Farm’s Pick Your Own was born, John was a pioneer in his field, and it grew rapidly into a successful family business. with Melanie and Wendy often found on the stalls and in the fields.

Family was at the heart of everything John did. He was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather, always going to extraordinary lengths for his loved ones. There was one summer holiday trip to Cornwall when Granny Wendy had recently been given her first ever washing machine (that twin tub was her pride and joy) and was so thrilled with it that she wanted to take it with her to Cornwall.  John being the devoted husband that he was - strapped the washing machine to an old pig trailer and attached to the back of their little Morris Minor. They drove it all the way to Cornwall and back just so that she could wash Nic’s nappies!

As the farm grew, so did the family involvement. Nic joined his dad on Priory Farm in the mid 1980’s working on the Pick Your Own and crop growing aspects of the farm. Anthony then joined too in 1989 and was involved in the development of the farm shop and its move into the courtyard buildings, where it is today. 

As his sons took on more of the business it allowed him to take up his sporting activities once more, he played tennis and skied into his early 80’s. From the age of 50 he skied every year with friends or family. I don’t think many people can say they were taught to ski by their grandpa and I (for one) still can’t ski at the pace and with as much style as he did. His tennis was also a true love and he taught us all to play. He played competitively with close friends and played for over 30 years every single week (and as grandchildren we were often called last minute to step in to make up the doubles teams) He only stopped playing at age 83 when he needed a new hip!

Throughout his life, gardening had always been his passion.  It was a very large part of his life and this became increasingly important to him  later in life and his attention to detail was second to none.  In 1997, he inspired a local group of enthusiasts and friends to form a group they called “the Garden Lovers ”, some of whom are here today. They shared gardening experiences, and not only visited each other's gardens, but traveled all over to visit gardens of interest, share company, food, wine and laughter.  Liz Ramsay remembers affectionately  - and in her words…..

 “The plot at Strawberry Cottage was magnificent, every plant nurtured to perfection, not a weed in sight, nothing ever went to seed, and watered on demand there was no doubting it- Strawberry Cottage won every time for colour, flower power, and sheer wow”.

Wendy who had been by his side through the good and stressful years and latterly struggled with ill health died unexpectedly in 2008 leaving a huge hole in his life.

The family continued growing with grandchildren and now more recently great grandchildren arriving and the name Bongo has passed down to a new generation. As grandchildren we feel very lucky to have had such an active grandpa. From climbing trees, playing tennis, skiing and his sense of fun was endless. He was still initiating games of hide and seek only a few months ago. He also continued to pass on his advice to all of us with our own gardens. 

Only last year, at age 93, Annie and Joe invited him over for lunch and some advice on pruning their very large magnolia tree. He accepted but warned them that he wasn’t feeling up to much so he would make it a brief visit. He ended up staying for over three hours and they had to discourage him from joining Joe up the tree!

In 2013, he was introduced to Judith Broome by some mutual friends, and they formed a deep bond over their shared interests in gardening, reading, and poetry. They found a peaceful happiness together that was so lovely for all of us.

John’s legacy to us all,  lives on here today. A man who continually shared his laughter, adventures and love throughout his life and we will strive to continue to pass it on!