Obituary - Norman Baptist 1939 - 2019

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Norman and Lynette

Norman, originally from the East End of London, went into the City straight from school and became an insurance man. I knew him slightly from his time at Wigham Richardson but got to know him very well while handling a huge collision case, 'ATLANTIC EMPRESS' and 'AEGEAN CAPTAIN' that occurred in July 1979. He was working for the owners of the 'EMPRESS' and I was handling the 'EMPRESS' for the Club.

I dealt with Norman on his more routine cases as well, and he was subsequently elected to the board of the UK Club and served as a director with distinction, being the only man on that board with insurance expertise. In that capacity, I saw him at each meeting and at the events around them. But such was the impact of the 'EMPRESS' that we - and Richard Shaw, the solicitor who handled the case - held an annual lunch right up until 2010 to commemorate it, and maintained the kind of friendship that such powerful shared experiences engender. In 2013 Norman, though unwell,  even came down to lunch at the Lymington Yacht Club when Richard (who lived nearby) was already suffering from the brain cancer that would kill him later that year.

We also became friends with Norman's wife Lynette, who, when she could get time off from her job as a teacher, accompanied him to the meetings.



Norman died in April 2019. I attended his funeral at St Mary's Wanstead where his life was recalled in a fine eulogy before a packed congregation. Even young Stavros Livanos attended. His many friends from the East End were also there, at it was clear from talking to them that he had kept up many close friendships over his long life.

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