A cheerful and popular Keswick character who was extremely well-known and respected in the town has died aged 89.
Alistair Corfield, who lived at Greta Gardens, was described as “a man who would do anything for anyone” and had a jovial and happy demeanour which endeared him to people.
Born in Keswick to Hannah and Alan in 1931, Mr Corfield was educated a Keswick Grammar School, which he left, aged 14, when his father was no longer able to work.
He did his National Service with the Royal Engineers and was stationed at the Suez Canal in Egypt and also carried out a covert mission in Cyprus.
During his early working life he was employed as a plumber and on the weigh station at Threlkeld Quarry.
He and his wife Marian, who died in 2016, used to run a grocery shop in Ratcliffe Place, Keswick, and in the early 1970s he went to work for the ambulance service based in the town.
Mr Corfield qualified as a paramedic at the age of 64 – the oldest person to do so at the time — and retired a year later.
He had a very active retirement and was involved with and was a loyal follower of Keswick Rugby Club and he was a long-standing supporter of Fitz Park Bowling Club.
In recent seasons, Mr Corfield – a former bowls player – was a daily visitor to the club and would support players and club events at every opportunity.
But the bowling club was far more than a sports location to Mr Corfield.
It was a social hub that played a massive part in his life, especially during lockdown when it gave him an all-important outlet.
There was nothing Mr Corfield would like more – as he did right up until he was admitted to hospital last week – than to sit outside the bowls pavilion with friends and watch a match unfold in the sunshine. He died peacefully in the Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, on Saturday.
Mr Corfield used to be involved with Keswick’s Royal Air Force Association and was a regular attender at St John’s Parish Church where he used to hand out the hymn and prayer books.
He also had a spell on Keswick Town Council in the 1980s.
He and Marian had three children - Angela, Peter and Wendy – and they have five grandchildren: Melissa, Mariah, Selina, Edward and Sebastian.
His son-in-law Kerry Irving, who runs the famous Max Out in the Lakes Facebook page, following the exploits of his springer spaniels, would refer to Mr Corfield as “grand-paw.”
A fundraiser set up on Max’s page for the Great North Air Ambulance Service has raised thousands of pounds.
Mr Corfield’s funeral service will take place at St John’s on Thursday at 2pm.
It will be followed by cremation in Carlisle.
