Obituary Dr Mark Henry Fussell
My mother wrote this eulogy and would like me to read it to you.
She found some notes recently and top of the list Mark had made in August 1974 was “A happy family life”. Mark was a family man and it really meant a lot to him. He was hugely energetic and enthusiastic and had an enormous amount of drive. This did not always make him easy to live with, as is often the case! It was never dull.
We met in 1958 at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Cambridge. Mark was working on his dissertation for the degree of PhD on poultry. I worked in the General Office and Merton Farm office which belonged to the Vet School. The job was so varied and interesting with many amusing events.
Mark could claim two firsts:
He was the first graduate from Sidney Sussex College to then graduate at the newly opened School of Veterinary Medicine.
He was a founder member of the British Veterinary Poultry Association.
We married in 1959 and packed a lot into the following 52 years.
Mark worked for three large companies in their Animal Health Divisions and this took him on worldwide travels. He visited Russia several times during the 1960’s Cold War period – travelled all over Europe, the Middle and Far East, also North and South America.
We lived in Holland and the USA for a time and 3 years in Italy. Mark always said he perfected his driving skills in the streets of Rome.
In 1983 we returned to Cambridge and Mark started his own business, Vetmark Services Ltd. He also linked up with a New Zealand veterinary instrument company as their European agent.
He and Brian Croy had quite a few adventures together on their drives around Europe every year.
Mark retired at 70 but decided on one final project while he was still quite active. That was to make his own garden from scratch. He loved the woodland, garden with lake and windmill he developed at Soham near Ely and with the help of his two good friends, Alan and Eddie, enjoyed 12 years seeing it gradually mature.