Brian Pullen, 1931 – 2024

Brian was born at the Mint Laundry in Liss Forest, and died less than a mile away, peacefully at home. The majority of his life was spent in this area though he and his wife Jane spent some 9 years in Cornwall, another 2 years in Dorset, and 5 years near Chichester before returning to Liss 24 years ago.

Educated at Churcher's, Brian became a shrewd businessman, who gained the respect of both his contemporaries and those who worked for him. A practical and resourceful man, in his formative years he owned and maintained sports cars. After his marriage to Jane, they built or renovated all the houses they owned, as well as a number of boats from dinghies to yachts.

The first part of his working life was running the Mint Laundry, founded by his father, later in partnership with his brother Tony. His passion for motoring led to him joining F W Kerridge in Alton for 5 years, before returning to the Mint, to redevelop it with Tony into a small industrial complex, which supported them into their retirement.

A consummate musician and lifelong fan of Modern Jazz, in his early days at Churcher's, he played the trumpet, and he played the piano for most of his life. After retirement his ability to set to and work hard were exemplified by him teaching himself music theory. Initially he played his favourite instrument the saxophone, but he unfortunately found that he wasn't able to play it to a level he found satisfactory. He turned to, and mastered, the vibraphone. For some 10 years, he played in a number of local bands, and continued to play until very recently.

He latterly became a passionate model railway builder, and was a dedicated member of Liss Model Railway Club.

Brian had a robust constitution, with hardly a thing wrong with him physically until he fell off a ladder in his 70s. Afterwards he took life more carefully.

Brian possessed a profound sense of discipline and duty, and a penchant for punctuality. He was a fount of general knowledge, particularly geography. A lover of nature, particularly garden birds which he took great pleasure in feeding and watching. He said that this was as close to religion as he could get.

Brian is laid to rest in the family grave in St Mary's Church in Selborne, together with his wife, mother and father, and his brother Tony, as was his wish.