Full Service tribute to Terence Arthur Challenger (Terry)

Terry, husband to Sue. Father to Andrew, Christopher, Judy, Claire, Ricky, and step father to Simon and Soeli. Grandfather to Jack, Brogan, Sharna, Jade, Chelsie, Cortney, Michael, Lissie and Mollie. Terry was looking forward to his first Great Grandchild, due in February 2019.

Terry was born September 26th 1945 in Bloxwich.
Three days before Terry’s fourth birthday, he and his mother moved to Great Wyrley where his mother Violet was to become house keeper to Sam Grigg. Violet and Sam later married and Terry gained a stepbrother Bryan and a step sister Marian, and in 1953, a brother Stephenwas born. Terry took the name of Grigg.
It is in Great Wyrley Terry met his lifelong friend Trevor Pearce, who lived across the road from him. Terry always remembered that day and the date he met Trevor and has recalled it many times. Together they got up to the usual things boys get up to, aswell as joining the local scouts.

Terry went to Landywood School
and played in the school football team. Then later he moved to Great Wyrley Secondary Modern School where in March 1959 he was in the school production of ‘The Pirates of Penzance.
When Terry left school in 1960, he tried various jobs before he and Trevor tried plastering, Terry stuck to it, but Trevor moved on. In the winter of 1963, Terry left plastering and got a job at Drescots factory in Cannock, which made men’s suits. This is where he met Sue. Terryworked in the cutting room, Sue worked in the main part of the factory. Terry didn’t work there long and went back to plastering. Terry and Sue started seeing each other in the September of that year and went dancing (rock & roll) going to the Cinemas in Cannock, Huntington youth club, roller skating at Wolverhampton and out with Terry’s mate Trevor,and his girlfriend Sheila.

Terry and Sue married in 1965 at Cannock Registry Office, and began married life living with Sue’s parents in Huntington. Andrew their first son was born that year. Soon after Andrews birth, Terry found a little cottage in Cheslyn Hay to rent. By the time Christopher, their second child was born in 1966 they had moved to Cemetery Road, Cannock, buying their own home. About 1968 Terry joined the TA (Territorial Army) and went to Germany with them. Although he wasn’t in the TA long he enjoyed the experience.

In 1969 Terry and Sue parted. Sue went back to her Mom and Dad’s with Andrew and Chris, Terry went back to live at his Mom and step fathers home in Great Wyrley. He continued plastering but took a second job behind the bar at the Star pub on the Walsall Road. He still had a passion for football and played for Harrison’s football club. However he was unsettled and decided to move to Brighton, where his step brother Bryan was living.
Through Bryan he met his second wife, Theresa. They married in 1974 and bought a house in Worthing, Sussex, where they had three children, Judy, Claire and Ricky.

Terry loved singing and would often be heard singing while working on the building sites, he sang in a group called Road Runner.
Terry taught many lads how to plaster, including Andrew and Chris who worked with him for some time. Although they worked hard they had many laughs and visits to the pub along the way. Terry also entered into the ferry business, ferrying people across the river Arun quickly understanding the tides, however he didn’t make his fortune and eventually gave it up.

Terry’s second marriage ended, and in 1989 he got back with Sue. Their favourite drinking place was Blowers club and as the Hillsborough disaster has happened that year, the women and men got together and arranged a football match to raise money. The men dressing up in different costumes, the women in a football strip. Terry dressed as a woman. Claire, only 12 at the time, remembers playing alongside the women and her dad.
In 1992 Terry and Sue remarried, which was the year their first grandchild, Jack was born.

Terry and Sue enjoyed many weekends at Welshpool with Trevor and Sheila, having a few cans and a laugh. Terry loved to go fishing. Ricky remembers going fishing with his dad on the river Severn and catching an eel.

In 1995 due to Terry’s work Terry and Sue rented a caravan at Cambrian Coast for 11 weeks. Terry had work in Aberystwyth. Ricky remembers spending a few weeks with them, making lots of friends and joining in the singing. Then Judy stayed with them. Judy remembers a great day she spent while there, working with her dad on the building site. At weekends at Cambrian Coast there would be a singing competition and Terry would always get up and sing and he won quite a few times.

Chris was working in Germany, so in 1996 asked his dad, if he wanted to work there a few weeks. So Terry and Sue went to Germany, where Terry worked for a couple of months. Terry bought some roller boots while in Germany and Sue would tow him about on hermobility scooter. Terry did a Karaoke there which went down very well with the Germans.
When Terry and Sue came home from Germany, they bought a static caravan next to Trevor and Shelia at Welshpool. Terry loved going to Welshpool and loved going to Blowers Club on a Sunday night after coming home from Welshpool. Some weekends they would go to Worthing where Andrew, Judy, Claire and Ricky lived, aswell as grandchildren. Terry would spend the Saturday morning going to see his children and grandchildren, then on the night time going for a meal with Andrew, Mandy, Jack and Brogan, and Chris when he came home from Germany. Then back home on the Sunday ready for work again on the Monday.

Terry always loved football and supported Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves). He went to the Wolves with Andrew and grandson Jack. But as time went by, due to his emphysema and Bronchiectasis he couldn’t manage it. In August 2007 Terry had to give up work, he couldn’t carry on plastering or go to the Wolves. He would spend Saturday afternoons watching the football on the TV, usually falling asleep and missing the goals.
In 2010 Claire got married and Terry was pleased he was able to walk her down the aisle.Sadly that same year Terry lost his stepbrother Bryan, then the following year 2011 he lost his step sister Marian.

Christopher introduced his dad to the computer game Runescape, then later World of Warcraft. Terry spent many happy hours on his computer. Over the last year he played cards in the mornings, then after a shower & his breakfast he would play World of Warcraft till 9pm at night, with a break inbetween doing jigsaws, which he got very good at. Then he would sit in the lounge and watch a film with Sue. He even had a chiller in his bedroom so he had a cool drink when he needed one. The only reason he came off his computer in the day time would be to have something to eat and drink, or if Mollie came. He loved spending time with Mollie.

Terry had a lot of chest infections, each one bought him further down. In 2011 Terry only had 30% lung capacity. He was using oxygen more all the time as his oxygen level in his blood was going down.

2014 and 15 were bad years, as son Chris had cancer and passed away in February 2015. It hit the family hard.

In January 2017 Terry was taken into hospital with pneumonia and only just managed to get over that. Since then he has gone downhill with his health. He had pneumonia when he was young and was in Birmingham hospital, but it had left a scar on his one lung. Terry kept going, playing on his computer, watching football, playing 60’s music. He tried to sing like he used to, but didn’t have the lungs to do it. Occasionally on a Saturday, he would pop down the road on his mobility scooter to get a newspaper and buy some lottery tickets. He was always trying to win some money to give his children, but never won anything.

Terry went into hospital Sunday 25th November  with pneumonia and a viral infection. In that last week in hospital he just wanted to be left alone, he had had enough of struggling. He wanted to come home, but was too ill to be moved. He passed away a week later, Sunday 2nd December 2018 with Sue, son Andrew and Granddaughter Lissie by his side.