Month: March 2007

Arthur Buse, highly respected as a North Devon businessman and for his service to the community, died on March 12, 2007, at the age of 79. Born in the village he attended Shebbear College from 1938-44 under Leslie Johnson and later Jack Morris.

For most of his life he worked for Thomas Oke & Son, agricultural and builders’ merchants of Holsworthy and its successor, serving firstly as assistant to John Oke, the owner and managing director, and later as managing director, when the company was bought by BOCM.

A Shebbear resident for many years before moving to Bude, Arthur was a long-serving member of the parish council and was later elected chairman.

As a young man he was very involved in the project to build a new village hall.

He was founding member of Holsworthy Rotary Club and later its Treasurer. He was also a member and Treasurer of Mid-Torridge Branch of the Royal British Legion.

He is survived by his wife Mary and son Nigel.

Phil Day, a popular teacher at Shebbear in the 1950s and known throughout the school as ”Skip” for his leadership of the Senior Scout Troop, has died.

He was one of a group of young masters recruited by Jack Morris and taught French and English and later Physical Education.

He was a graduate of the University of Wales and also spent three years with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

He was married firstly to the sister of a Shebbearian.

Moving to Canada, he graduated again from the University of Toronto, before teaching at Appleby College. In 1989 joined the faculty of St Andrew’s College “with boundless energy, resolve and commitment”.

A short obituary on the St Andrew’s website said that he retired from teaching in 1994 and “will be remembered for his love of languages, rugby, travel and music.”

He died in January 2005, aged 76, after a long illness, and is survived by his second wife Sheryl, son Nigel and daughter Nicola and their children.