"A fountain of knowledge" - tribute paid to Whitby newsagent John Anderson
Tribute has been paid to a Whitby newsagent who was the heart and soul of the community.
John Anderson, who owned Toymaster on Bridge Street, passed away aged 77 after a battle with cancer.
He worked in the store from 1984, going into the business with his father Ronnie, buying it and extended into the property next door which was Mr Coates’ electrical shop. It became Toymaster in 1989.
His wife Louise said: "Older people who have sadly passed have bought from him and their children and grandchildren have bought from him too, and goes down through the years.
"We used to have a Christmas club with about 200 members and it allowed people to buy their toys – they’d put a couple of pounds in a week and by Christmas, they had enough money to get their toys and Ronnie used to deliver them.
"John was a very clever man and really knew his stuff – he was a fountain of knowledge.
"If he had gone to university he would have excelled and what he didn’t know, he found out.
"We had a holiday home in Majorca and he taught himself Spanish.
"When Covid came, he Facetimed his grand-daughter to help with her Maths, and when she went back to school, she was higher than she would have been.”
After leaving school, John spent a year working at a pig farm in Canada and staying with a family – Louise said he was always looking at farms with the intention to buy but nothing appropriate came up – as well as a brief stint on the oil rigs.
John was a tireless worker, working seven days a week from 5.30am to 5.30pm and also until 7pm on a Saturday after the National Lottery came in.
He was a member of the Whitby band The Renegades, performing as a singer and also playing guitar and harmonica, with fellow band-mates Ray Brown (guitar), Brian Anderson (bass) and Roy Jay (drums).
He loved walking, hiking in such beautiful areas as Switzerland and the Amalfi coast, but one of his main hobbies was building model aircraft, becoming a member of Whitby Flying Club.
John turned the lower floor of their home into a workshop with planes hanging from the ceiling and loved flying them at Goldsborough and the Hole of Horcum.
"All he wanted to do was build airplanes,” said Louise.
"I wish he’d retired earlier.”
He leaves wife Louise, children John and Sophie and grandchildren Ross, Marcus, Isobel, Jack and Gabriella.
His funeral is on Monday June 24 at St Mary’s Church, 10.30am, followed by private cremation.