Howard Greatbanks

“Your loving ways we will never forget.”

Howard sadly passed away on the 13th August in the care of Leighton Hospital, aged 73 years.

Devoted husband of Jean, much loved dad of Caroline. Also a cherished grandad, brother, uncle and friend, who will be sadly missed but lovingly remembered by all his family and friends.

A service to celebrate Howard’s life will take place at Crewe Crematorium on Tuesday 30th August at 11.30am, followed by cremation.

Donations in memory of Howard will be gratefully received on behalf of the Intensive Care Unit at Leighton Hospital.

For further information please contact our funeral home on 01270 584447.

Howard was totally dedicated to his late wife Jean and totally dedicated to her care when she was poorly.  He was much loved by his daughter Caroline and very much a father figure to his granddaughter and little best friend, Isabelle who he looked after one day a week whilst Caroline was working and much like Caroline when she was a little girl, Isabelle very often sat on the drive in a pretty dress helping grandad tinker with his engines – so the pretty dresses didn’t stay clean for long!

He became a grandad again when Thea was born in 2021 and Harper this year and although he was in hospital when they arrived, he did get to see them intermittently when he wasn’t back in hospital.

Howard was a brother to the late Michael and to Sheila, a brother-in-law to Christine and Rushton and an uncle to Darren, Matthew, Louise and Marie.

Born and bred in Crewe, Howard never really spoke about his early years although in later life, he often used to reminisce about his time at Rolls Royce / Bentley.  He wasn’t very good with reading and writing at school but always very practical.  He was always extremely good at woodwork and made many ornamental things for the house but apparently, he was a terrible cook, relying on Caroline for that sort of thing.

At the age of fifteen, like many of his peers, he went into an apprenticeship at Rolls Royce and became a time served Coppersmith, working on the exhaust systems.

One of the lads he started with became a lifelong dear friend, they remained in regular contact and a Christmas card always arrived from him on 1st December but sadly he also passed away last year.  Howard always used to tell Caroline that he loved his work and his time at Rolls Royce and then Bentley were the best years in his life.

He and Jean began their relationship when they lived on opposite sides of Greenfields Avenue.  They married in 1985 and having sold both their houses in Shavington, they moved into a new build on Tilstone Close.

Jean was forty-two when she had Caroline and Howard was a mere youngster at thirty-eight!  Caroline remembers one day when she arrived home from primary school, he had shaved off his beard and she didn’t recognise him!

She also remembers they had wonderful caravan holidays in Cornwall at least twice a year although they did go to Jersey one year, but Jean hated flying, so it was the first and last time they went abroad.

Howard worked nights, Jean had worked at BT but then after having Caroline, she became a dinner lady to manage childcare.  Jean and Howard were very much homebirds, contented in each other’s company and doing things together as a family.