A message from Margaret Duxbury

Peter Norman Duxbury 1943-2005

I write to bring the sad news that Peter died of multiple myeloma on 7th September 2005.

I thank those with whom I have already been in contact for their kind condolences.

I was married to Peter for 39 years. He was a kind, generous and loving husband and I and the family miss him very much. Many of you know that for many years he was dogged by depression but when he was well, he was fun, had a great sense of humour, was highly intelligent, lively minded and had a great sense of curiosity.

Peter was, of course, a Lancastrian and very proud of his ancestry. His initial interest in his family tree was stimulated by his cousin, Ronald, who, many moons ago, produced a paper version of the immediate family. In the late 1990s he was in contact with Tony Foster and Helen Moorwood and began to put together much of the information that they (and others) provided onto a website. So began worldwide contacts with members of various lines of the Duxbury family, many of whom visited him here in Milton Keynes and who were a source of great pleasure to him.

I remember him poring over birth, marriage and death certificates, sometimes soliciting my help to decipher them. He would also search the available censuses discovering where Duxburys lived and the jobs they did providing him with an insight into the kinds of lives they led often in Lancashire cotton towns. The names of characters such as Henri de Duxbury from the 12th century became familiar to me and perhaps more particularly Miles Standish, the Pilgrim Fathers, the town of Duxbury in Massachusetts, the possible link to Deorwuc in the 9th or 10th century (I think!).  Then there were the contemporary Duxbury names – Helen Moorwood, Tony Foster, Ray Aspden, Geoff Duxbury in the UK; Don and Ruth, Doris Forkin, Marilyn Cox, John T. Duxbury and Emily in the USA; Jack Dukesbury in Indonesia; Susan Neumann in Germany and many others.

Peter leaves me, his wife, two sons, Mark and Michael, a dear daughter-in-law, Neung from Thailand, and a delightful granddaughter, Jennifer – and we look forward to a new addition to the family in December. We all miss Peter very much but I am blessed with a kind and loving family and many good friends.

I would also like to pay tribute to Peter’s friend, Jerry Dennis, who has been a great help to me in sorting out technical issues on the computers including the website, and continues to do so.

With good wishes to you all.

Margaret Duxbury (May 2006)

Please be aware that Margaret will be unable to help you with any Family Tree enquiries. Please direct these to Ronald Taylor who will do his best to help but please remember that he does not have the knowledge that Peter built up over the years.

Thank you