MINISTER, teacher and great-great-grandfather David Leaver has died, at the age of 92.

Turning to Christianity at the age of 12, Mr Leaver played a substantial role in Magdalen Road Church for more than 30 years.

David Leaver was born in Portsmouth on September 15, 1922, to parents Walter and Lilian Leaver (nee Jones).

He grew up in Southbourne, Dorset, and went to Southbourne School in 1933 at the age of 11.

At the start of the Second World War he joined the Home Guard and then, when he was 18 in 1940, enlisted with the Royal Signals, serving until 1946. In 1943 Mr Leaver married Edith Hodder, a girl he had known since secondary school, in a ceremony at Southbourne Free Church.

In 1945 he and his wife had a son, David, followed by Peter in 1946 and then a daughter Dianne in 1951.

In 1950 Mr Leaver moved to Oxford and immediately joined Magdalen Road Church, becoming joint leader with Gerald Henagulph.

Obituaries

He worked at the district valuers’ office in Oxford for five years and then took up a new job working for Oxford City Council as a surveyor. He stayed in this position for 30 years until his retirement.

Mr and Mrs Leaver, and their children, lived in Dry Sandford near Abingdon, for nine months on first moving to Oxfordshire, before moving to Morris Crescent, off Cowley Road, in the mid 1960s. They then moved to Henley Avenue and stayed there until moving south in 1985, the year they retired.

Mr and Mrs Leaver moved back to Oxford in 2009 to live in sheltered accommodation in Headington, near their second son Peter and his family.

Mr Leaver stayed with the church throughout his life, joining Lime Walk Methodist Church in 2009 with his wife.

Although work, family and the church took up most of his time, he also enjoyed tapestry work and gardening.

Mrs Leaver died in 2013 and soon after Mr Leaver became involved in Prison Fellowship. He visited local prisons to preach on Sunday mornings, continuing until pancreatic cancer prevented him. His health deteriorated during the last six months of his life but his son said he still stayed positive and gracious until the end.

He died in his sleep on July 18, leaving behind two children Dianne and Peter. His eldest son David died in 2013. He also leaves behind six grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, aged six months.

A thanksgiving service was held at Lime Walk Methodist Church on July 29.