Memories of Pete
 
He was born to parents Bill & Laura, a long awaited brother for Maureen - but as a small boy he could not pronounce her name so always called her Mo, the name stuck. 
 
Pete spent his earlier years in Wentworth Street before the family moved to Parson Cross, where he attended Meynell Road school. At an early age he developed a love of football and supported Sheffield Wednesday. 
 
As a boy he enjoyed family holidays with his mum, dad, Mo, Florrie (a close family friend) and the family dogs at BeacholmeCaravan Park in Cleethorpes and Bridlington. 
 
When Pete left school his first job was as a Universal Miller and then he went on to be a CNC machinist, which suited him down to the ground, the work had to be perfect and he was a perfectionist, well at least that’s what he used to tell his family when he was taking his time over DIY jobs!
 
He married his first wife Lesley in June 1971 at the registry office in Sheffield and they went on to have three children Sarah, Emma and Katie. After Pete and Lesley separated, Pete met the love of his life Elaine on a blind date which was arranged by a mutual friend Ann. They soon married and built a very happy life together and Pete proudly became stepdad to her children Angie & Steven. 
 
He was adopted by Elaine’s family all of whom loved him dearly. The two families became one big family and made some very happy memories, big Sunday lunches, Christmases and parties. The parties were always big and they invited everyone they knew and even those they didn’t! Pete was the life and soul of the party and even attempted to do the ‘Full Monty’ at his 50thbirthday - thank goodness he kept his hat on! 
 
There were also many family parties at the Swan which were very lively and involved lots of drinking, singing and dancing. It was a great opportunity to socialise with close family & friends, especially Dave, Hazel, Sally, John, Phil, Elaine and Julia to name but a few.
 
Even when the house was not full of family it was full of cats and dogs. Pete loved the animals in particular Jed. Whilst he loved Missy, Benny and all the cats (too many to name) Jed was his dog, he always insisted that Jed chose him and he was his best friend. He even bought him dog socks so he could still go on the family holidays to Sands End and race on the beach without making his paws sore.   
 
He warmly welcomed his children’s partners into the family – Andrew, Rob, Adam, Colin & Tuyen and was over the moon to become a grandad to Joshua, Jacob, Eleanor, Lydia & Isla. 
 
Pete was a very proud granddad and always had time for all of them. He was kind, patient, and always willing to be the butt of their jokes, especially when he allowed them to paint his face with various make-up products!  
 
Joshua, Jacob and Eleanor used to have regular sleepovers at Grandad Pete and Nanny Elaine’s, Pete always had the knack of getting Eleanor to fall asleep when no one else could, he would lay her across his chest& stomach and she would be out like a light! 
 
When the kids were small they thought the shopping centre, Crystal Peaks was called Grandad Pete’s shop, because he went daily! 
 
Joshua remembers using Grandad Pete as a human buckaroo whilst he slept on the sofa. It was incredible just how many objects he could pile on him without waking him up! He also remembers how it used to take him 20 years to decide what he wanted to eat!
 
Jacob remembers thinking that Grandad Pete was the real Peter Pan and Eleanor remembers him always sharing his ice-cream with her. They also remember him saying that any meal can become a sandwich with the addition of bread and butter!
 
As well as being a doting grandad Pete was also a much-loved uncle to his niece Karen & her husband Steve, and to his nephew Steven as well a being a dear brother-in-law to Graham.
 
Outside of work & family life Pete & Elaine enjoyed lots of holidays both at home and abroad, having many adventures together, trying different places and cultures. From the static caravan holidays at Sands End to the beautiful beaches in Greece with Angie and Colin and later Jacob and Eleanor. Whilst on holiday Pete and Elaine also experienced lots of different things from a hot air balloon ride over the pyramids in Egypt to an elephant ride in India.
 
We all know that Pete loved his food, and he fell extremely lucky when he married Elaine as she was an amazing cook. But there was one thing he was always proud of and that was that his Yorkshire puddings always turned out better than hers. As Pete got older his choice of food became predictable in that it would be gammon from a pub menu, salt and pepper squid from the Chinese and poppadoms and chicken biryani from the Indian, but it would still take him 30 minutes at least to decide! Without fail, Pete would always leave the best part of his meal until last, as he never failed to clean his plate!  
 
As well as his big appetite, he also liked watching cooking programs, particularly The Hairy Bikers - even going to the trouble of getting his book signed by them, although he wasn’t impressed that he had to queue! If you ever called him during Saturday Morning Kitchen and Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo were on, you would have to ring back! 
 
Pete also had a great love for music and had a wide taste spreading across many genres. From doing Elvis karaoke with Joshua, to listening to folk music at the local pub and watching the Blues Brothers musical at the crucible, he loved it all. He even went through a country and western phase which involved the purchase of a cowboy hat, boots and a leather waistcoat! Everyone wanted Pete on their team when it came to a music quiz, he was a master! When he worked at Eurocut Ltd on night shifts he would often go outside and listen to the concerts at Don Valley, free of charge of course! He always said, ‘why pay for something when I can hear it for nothing and with better sound!’
 
He continued to be both frustrated and overjoyed with his boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday. The highlight was when he went to Wembley and watched them win and lift the Rumbelows cup in 1991. He also continued to enjoy fishing but didn’t go so much as he got older.
 
It’s fair to say that Pete was never good at finding his way to places but would never ask for directions. After a family event in York on the way home to Sheffield he somehow managed to end up in Harrogate, but he still refused to ask for directions!
 
He was a very proud Yorkshireman which comes with equal measures of stubbornness & grumpiness! But, he was equally very warm, kind, big hearted and very patient. He was good company being particularly close to Elaine’s cousin Phil and his wife Elaine.Since Elaine sadly passed away Phil has been a great friend to Pete, which wasn’t always easy as he grew a little distant from people. But Phil never gave up and kept calling him especially during the last 12 months. During that time Pete also developed a close friendship with Rob’s mum & dad Ennis & Arnie who rang him weekly to make sure he was ok during thedifficult pandemic.
 
For as sociable as Pete was, he also liked his own company especially as he got older making good use of the time to watch bargain hunt, antiques roadshow, only fools and horses along with many cooking and quiz shows.