R I P Grumpy Bodger

[Spyder fan]

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Dear All,
On Sunday morning 8th February Derek "John" Pelly AKA GrumpyBodger on these forums passed away genuinely peacefully at Weston Hospicecare, Weston Super Mare.

John lived with cancer of the prostate for at least the last 3 years which was controlled by a combination of medication and radical treatment and expected to have a few more good years to enjoy his well earned retirement based in Burnham on Sea near his childhood stomping ground of Bristol. Unfortunately early in 2014 he was diagnosed with lung cancer of a particularly aggressive type and received the distressing news in September 2014 that his treatment was to be palliative rather than radical. Typically for John he took this news on the chin and soldiered on living independently in his own home until just 2 weeks ago when he was admitted to Weston General Hospital and subsequently to the Weston Hospice.

John was an engineer by trade and worked for BMW as a gearbox designer based in Dachau West Germany. His passion for all things Lotus stemmed from his ownership of a type 14 Lotus Elite, a car that he was to miss profusely once it was sold and he always vowed to have another, but things like family and other commitments got in the way and then he discovered the pleasures of Lotus Elan's and the dark side of modifying them by changing the hallowed Lotus Twin Cam for a lowly Ford Zetec literally years before Spyder did their first customer conversion. You just need to read Johns posts here on Lotuselan.net to realise what a special person he was.

Beware of the Illuminati

grumpybodger-u2544.html
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[Spyder fan]

I have just spoken to Mike Serle who is a long time friend of Derek John Pelly of over 50 years. The funeral will be held at 12noon on 20th February at Burnham on Sea Methodist Church http://www.methodistchurchburnhamonsea.org.uk/

Would anybody wishing to attend please contact Mike Serle by email [email protected] or PM me so that I can pass numbers on to him.

[david.g.chapman]

Oh that is sad news - I will miss his knowledge and wit on this forum.

Dave Chapman.

[pharriso]

RIP Pelly, your postings will help keep Elans on the road for many years to come.

[elansprint71]

I only met the Bodger once, when he sought me out at Donington Park; I was track-side photographing when I heard a loud voice shouting through the fence "Oi, are you Elansprint". We got on like a house on fire and continued the banter via PMs and once in a while on the forum.

RIP John, you were a top bloke and a true Lotus Man.

[billwill]

Awww, shame... I shall miss him..

[KevJ+2]

I'm genuinely saddened by the news of Grumpy's passing.
It's a nice thought to think he will continue to share his knowledge from the history files and as a Lotus enthusiast, I salute him.

[nebogipfel]

Very sorry to hear this news. Cancer still seems to destroy so many lives.

[69S4]

That does come as a shock and I'm so sad to hear it. I never met him but I was only wondering a week or so back why I hadn't seen any recent posts. RIP DJP

[Robbie693]

A sad day. Rest in Peace Mr Pelly. You will be missed

[gjz30075]

A sad day indeed. RIP John


Greg Z

[trw99]

I'll bet dear old John has a really interesting bit of kit up there, even now.

Rest easy.

Tim

[richardcox_lotus]

RIP Grumpy - thanks for your wit and wisdom

Richard

[elanner]

Just saw this. Yet another day when I need to remind myself that every day is a gift.

Very sad to hear this news. RIP.

Nick

[miked]

Sad news indeed to hear about John. I had been trying to contact him the last couple of weeks and feared the worst when I could get no answer. The loss of a really nice guy and a good friend
I made contact with John in 2004 as I recall just after this forum first started. He gave me advice and then we kept in contact ever since. By chance I had to go to work in Germany on a project in Munich. During a year of going to and fro' we had many meals and beers together in the nice summer nights through to the snow in winter.
I travelled to see John in late November and although he was very weak we had a good day. It was good to see him and I am glad I went. He did not want to talk about his illness and after several cups of tea he pepped up and we went out and had a roast pork dinner and I got some Somerset Cider. John showed me around Burnham-on-Sea and I was quite surprised how he came to life from being so tired earlier. We went back and talked cars and all things Lotus, had more tea and biscuits and talked until it went dark. It is very sad as he had just got himself sorted out after returning to the UK. Life is so unfair. Although we knew about his illness this still comes as a shock that things come to an end so quickly.
John was a very good engineer and a very articulate man. His car and workshop was a credit to him.
I will miss him and the life advice he gave me when needed.

Mike