John loved his family, enjoyed his life and kept smiling until the day he died.

John was born in Bridport, Dorset the only child of Fred and Margaret Coombs.  

When he left school he joined the local bakers and began to train as a baker and confectioner.   In his spare time he loved to play water polo for the local swimming club based at West Bay and it was here he met his future wife Ann.  They were married on 20th March 1954.  

Their first daughter Pat was born the following year and shortly after they moved to Weymouth where their second daughter Lyn was born.  The next move was to Newport in South Wales until 1960 when they moved to Southampton.

John joined the Union Castle Line as baker and confectioner on the newly launched RMS Windsor Castle and spent the next 17 years sailing between Southampton and South Africa every 8 weeks.  This meant he was away for 6 weeks and then home for 2.  He only ever missed 1 voyage.   He loved his time on the Windsor Castle and made many friends.
 

When the Union Castle Line stopped the weekly sailings John was made redundant and joined the Royal Fleet Auxiliary service. He went back to college and retrained as a cook.  His new voyages took him away for longer but he now travelled all over the world.  His wife Ann was allowed to accompany him on some trips. When John was away in the 1^st Gulf War Ann helped set up a support group for those whose partners were away which proved very popular.   John was immensely proud of the support she was able to give others.  John loved his new life and again made many good friends.

Once John retired he and Ann continued to live in Bursledon near Southampton.  Both became active members of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Retirement society and Ann would make cards for all occasions that were sold to raise money for members in need.  They were very both extremely proud an honoured to have been nominated to attend a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.  

In 2014 they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.  Unfortunately John had now been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease and this was beginning to impact on their lives.  With Ann's health also deteriorating and with the dementia now taking a greater hold in 2015 John moved into a specialist care home.  As his condition continued to rob John of the person he once was, he was cared for by the dedicated staff of Copper Beeches Nursing Home.

His wife Ann sadly died from cancer in February this year.  John leaves behind daughters Pat and Lyn, son in laws Ron and Colin, grandchildren Peter, Gareth, Vicky and Andrea and great grandsons Rhys, Oliver and Finlay.