Laurence John Hassall

“You are no more than a thought away” 

Peacefully in the care of Leighton Hospital, Laurence passed away on 21st August 2021 aged 81 years.

The beloved husband of Gaynor, much loved dad, grandad & friend who will be fondly remembered & sadly missed by all his family & friends.

His funeral service took place on Tuesday 31st August 2021 at Crewe Crematorium Chapel at 3.30pm.

For further information and to offer your condolences, please go to our website on www.josephoconnell.co.uk /recently deceased or telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447

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Laurence Hassall, husband to Gaynor and together for thirty years, married for
twenty-two, he was also known as Logo by some. Laurence was much loved,
incredibly spoilt, he tested her patience to the limits, he was incredibly hard of
hearing but refused to wear his hearing aids, so she constantly had to shout and
repeat herself but what she wouldn’t give to have him back by her side, driving her
up the wall! He was always up for a laugh – pulling your leg was his speciality but
this was always done with affection.

He was a loving dad to Joanne and Paul and fond of Paul’s partner Donna, to
Victoria, he was always Laurence, ‘my mum’s husband’ and his three grandchildren,
Magnus, Ingrid and Jasmine, were his world, he adored them all.
Laurence was a popular man, with a passion for his allotment for thirty years and
recently handed over the reins to Paul. He was a committed rep over all the
allotments for twenty-three of them, and it wasn’t just about the satisfaction of
growing veg or turning the land into something special, he loved chatting to all the
plot holders, he was always willing to lend a hand or give advice and made countless
friends, especially Glyn and his wife Helen who remained close even after moving to
Rhyl and when Glyn had his customary chat to Laurence very recently, he thought
he sounded in good spirts and well.
He used to walk in Queens Park every day, doing different routes and always
chatting to the gardeners on his way round. But last October he fell and broke his
shoulder and hadn’t been much since then.
Gaynor said of her dear husband, “Laurence was an easy-going man, he was kind
and thoughtful with his own strange brand of humour which I didn’t get. He loved the
apple pies I used to make for him nearly every week, he was spoilt and didn’t always
appreciate it, but I will miss him dreadfully. During the pandemic, we were together
24/7 as we hardly went out, but we did have an occasional trip to the garden centre
and delighted in planning the garden for next year.”
His Daughter Jo added a family tribute. Dad was extremely protective; he always
had our back and he believed we could do anything we set our minds to, he would
reassure us with his pearls of wisdom, “go for it, show them what your made of” He
had the same loving support to his grandchildren. When talking about today, one of
them said when his face lit up with love, you just knew he had your back!

He cared deeply about various aspects of life and some topics really wound him up,
from the state of the nation and politicians to the ridiculously high wages of premier
league football players.

To his children – he has passed on his sense of fair-play, the value of treating people
with decency and of course – the joys of gardening.

It has to be said that DIY, planning ahead or being on time were not his best skills –
but he knew how to be in the moment – present with people, as a jolly decent chap.
Remembering Laurence

Born at Linden Grange on 12 th October 1939 to Madge and Harry, according to Jo,
he took after his mum – a patient and gentle soul too who always had time to listen to
people without talking about herself.
She was a skilled cake-maker and although she didn’t pass on her fine baking skills
to Laurence! his taste for a quality cake continued throughout his life and Chatwin’s
cream cakes were a particular weakness!
Laurence went to West Street Junior School before progressing to Nantwich
Grammar. He left to work for the railway at Sandbach Station and Nantwich Signal
Box, then got a position in the Import and Export department at Rolls Royce for
many years before he became his own boss at Cloud Motors at Wheelock doing
classic car body repairs and paint spraying.
His last job was as a warehouse operative, working regular nights at BOC Transheild
and after he retired at the age of sixty-five, he spent most of his days on the
allotment at Wistaston Green, loving every minute of it.
During those years, Laurence became a proud dad to Joanne and Paul. He met his
Gaynor when she was working at the Cross Keys. They married in 1998.
They took on two allotments together twenty-eight years ago and often there all day,
Gaynor said sandwiches never tasted so good! They grew all their own prize
winning veg and salad crops and for his retirement present she bought him a poly
tunnel so they could have fresh produce all year round. He took immense pride in
their achievements especially the beautiful gladioli which constantly graced the
height and width of the fireplace at home as did the stunning chrysanths. Laurence
helped with the veg entries on carnival days, but he beamed with pride when his
exhibits won many shows and they also loved to visit the prestigious ones like
Shrewsbury to admire the incredible standards people work hard to achieve.
Holidays were also important, Gaynor told me they loved going abroad, collecting
many happy memories of beautiful places like Calpe in Majorca with its sheer drops
and Ibiza, too many to mention and they kept in touch with the many good friends
met on their travels. Laurence never failed to disappoint whenever he jumped up to
do Karaoke. He had a superb voice and loved giving everyone fabulous renditions
of Elvis like the entrance song which he always dedicated to Gaynor.
He never forgot the highlight of his week, speaking to his Uncle Eric every Saturday
to review the Football fixtures. They would put the game and the clubs to right
always knowing where they had gone wrong. In recent years, he was extremely
disgruntled about V.A.R. rules on the football pitch, he felt they got in the way of a
magnificent sport, he loved football as well as talking about it at every opportunity,
but it just wasn’t the same after Eric passed away. Let us hope they are reunited
once again, putting the world to rights.

May he rest in peace.