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Obituary Pat and Paul Heighway
PoPuLAR and inspirational Dittisham couple Pat and Paul Heighway have recently died, just 18 days apart from each other. They were married for 48 years. Architect Paul, who’s legacy lives on in buildings in and around Dartmouth, died after suffering a fall, aged 73. Pat died in Torbay Hospital 18 days later, aged 71. Their son Jonathan, also an
architect, said his mum had been heartbroken by the recent and sudden death of her husband and her health went quickly downhill. He said: ‘Although it’s awful for us
to lose them both, in a strange yet romantic way it’s fitting they are now reunited. ‘They were inseparable and literally
two peas in a pod - doing everything together yet not suffocating each other.’ Paul was the architect behind a number of award-winning Dartmouth buildings, including the Flavel Arts Centre; restoration of st saviour’s, st Clement’s and st Petrox churches; and transformation of st Barnabas Church into a restaurant. Recently he was involved in the refurbishment at southford school Rooms with his son. He was a founding partner of BBH Architects in Duke street and a partner and consultant with Heighway Field Associates in exeter. Paul was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in London. His father, a commercial artist and draughtsman, spent hours teaching his young son how to draw and make models. unafraid of expressing his opinions and with a reputation for speaking his mind, Paul was a former chairman of Dartmouth Round Table, former vice-chancellor of governors at Dartmouth Community College and a Dittisham parish councillor for 18 years. He was also commodore of the Ditsum Vintage Boat Club; founder, with Pat, of Dittisham Regatta; and
helped realise the ambition to build Dartmouth’s outdoor swimming pool. Paul won a number of
conservation awards and was responsible for looking after 40 churches across Devon as an inspecting architect. Pat and Paul moved to Dittisham with their two children 40 years ago. They were both very passionate about local village life and loved Dittisham. Paul loved sailing his beloved classic yacht Muriel, working in his shed making wooden toys and designing props and scenery for village plays and pantomimes. In a recent interview with By The
Dart he said: ‘Ditsum is a magical place. The setting is amazing anyway but there are so many interesting people here and it’s a village with a heart that’s still a community.’ Pat, a former schoolteacher, was a
community stalwart in the village. Her 102-year-old father Jimmy newell still lives in Dittisham. she was educated at Homerton
College, Cambridge and became head of history at Ruislip Manor school. she married Paul in Ruislip in 1967
after they met while working for the post office as students during the Christmas holiday. They had two children, Jonathan
born in 1968 and his sister Penny in 1970. In 1976, the family moved to Devon,
first to Brixham and then to Dittisham. Pat taught at Churston Ferrers Grammar school, Blackawton Primary school and Dartmouth Community College. she was passionate about working with young people and set up Dittisham Youth Club and evening pottery classes in Blackawton. After leaving teaching, she set up the Dartmouth Youth Training scheme with friend sally Vincent, helping many 16 to 18-year- olds from Dartmouth and the
surrounding area. she also worked as office manager of Heighway Field Associates in exeter. Pat set up Dit’sum Players and
produced countless pantomimes with Ron Travers. she was the driving force behind the Dart Drama Festival and organised shakespeare events in her garden. Pat and Paul built the family home in Dittisham in 1978. They were both passionate about their garden ‘Middle Meadow’, which Pat nurtured from a field into a mature country plot. The couple have been laid to rest together under a beloved oak tree there. At his mum’s funeral Jonathan said:
‘Whilst dad’s death came as a huge shock to us it was not altogether unexpected. He had not been his usual jovial self for a couple of years. His body was letting him down and his mind was tired. When dad died there is no doubt mum lost the love of her life, her soul mate, her best mate and her partner in crime. ‘It’s important to understand mum and dad never wanted to get old. They were young at heart and in mind, which was often witnessed in their childish, sometimes funny and sometimes incredibly annoying, behaviour.
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