Seven fly in from abroad to pay respects to Scarborough man John Pearce at funeral
Seven young men from Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Italy travelled from their homelands to be present at the funeral of Scarborough man John Pearce.
The ‘host sons’ who travelled to the funeral at Seamer Methodist Church were Michael Faulhaber (Germany), Tristan Harder (Germany), Gustav Bertelsen (Denmark), Silvan Meier (Switzerland), Matthias Meier-Jaggi (Switzerland), Andreas Thal-Jantzen (Denmark), Nicola Martinelli (Italy).
For the last 20 years of his life John had provided lodgings to foreign students studying English in Scarborough.
Only, John provided much more than lodging and meals.
He would take the boys on visits to place like York and Whitby, and engage with them on many cultural issues which broadened their knowledge of their host nation, expanding their knowledge of the English language.
It was this dedication to enriching the experience of his visitors that was reflected in their desire to return to Scarborough for John’s funeral.
John was a modest, quiet man, a real gentleman.
It was these characteristics along with his true friendship and kindness that lead these young men to return to Scarborough to pay their final tribute to John.
John was a devout Methodist and accomplished classical pianist and his musical talents were fully utilised by various Methodist churches as organist and chorist.
John had fought cancer in his later years before succumbing to it.
He was diligently cared for over these years by Amanda (Mandy) Clayton, who sang her own moving tribute to John at his funeral.
The ‘host sons’ paid a tribute to John in their eulogy at his funeral: “John’s legacy of kindness, cultural exchange and friendship will be fondly remembered by all who knew him.”