A devoted teacher and keen sportsman has died, aged 53.
John Gardner, who was a member of the Clacton Ramblers Cricket Club, Eastcliff recreation ground, lived in Clacton for several years.
He died from a heart attack on October 22, following a table tennis league match.
Mr Gardner was born in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, in 1948. He moved to Clacton, from Stoke-on-Trent, with his family in 1959.
He was educated at Holland Road Primary School and Forest School, Walthamstow, before completing his education at Clacton County High School, where his father, Dr Raymond Gardner, was headmaster.
After training to become a teacher in Cambridge, Mr Gardner moved to Chelmsford to become a teacher at the King Edward VI Grammar School, and later became head of economics.
Mr Gardner's mother, Audrey, said he would best be remembered for his cricket and table tennis skills.
A colleague of Mr Gardner said: "He was a first-class teacher for whom his occupation was a genuine vocation."
He leaves a widow, Tricia, a daughter, Sarah, who just completed a doctorate in philosophy and son, Paul, who is at Oxford University.
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