Thousands of lives and countless communities have been touched by Geoff Stuteley. Geoff, who has died aged 82 after a short illness that accelerated into pneumonia, was the tireless support for C2 Founder, Hazel Stuteley.

Geoff provided transport, emotional support, ideas, sounding board, frustration off-loader and joy sharer, as Hazel worked throughout the country and internationally to share the ideas and practical knowledge of community health. In short, Geoff created the conditions for C2.

In a time when it was rare, Geoff stepped into the role of ‘house husband’ with their young family when they moved to Cornwall. And in his later career, he took early retirement to support Hazel’s C2 activity.

Geoff and Hazel first met on a blind date in 1969. Hazel was a 19-year-old nurse at King’s College Hospital. Geoff was 27 and a highly regarded insurance underwriter in a prestigious old City of London firm called Noble Lowndes, having worked his way up from office boy aged 16.

The slow-burn romance offered Hazel an escape from the intense hospital environment into the cultural atmosphere of the City. Geoff shared stories. Hazel was enthralled by walking with him around the haunts of Jack the Ripper – and he wined and dined the young nurse, nurturing a feeling of being cared for, special, and safe.

Hazel asked him to marry her a year later!

In the early 1970s, Geoff became disillusioned by what was happening in his profession. In 1975, he resigned and the couple followed their dream of moving to Cornwall. It wasn’t an easy decision for him, but their three sons were born there and life was pretty idyllic. Initially, Hazel was the breadwinner, taking the role of a Health Visitor.

It was then that Geoff built his own small Insurance Broking service. It wasn’t easy in Cornwall – the economy was in a deep recession. At times, the couple struggled, but by the time he retired to support Hazel in 2001, he had some prestigious clients. Hazel was able to pause her career in 1978, just doing part-time community nursing, to focus on bringing up the boys. She returned to Health Visiting in 1990 in Falmouth – where, alongside the community, she co-founded the multi-award winning Beacon Project four years later.

In 2002 she was made a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter leading to the development of C2, a programme of community-led health creation that captured the transferable principles from Beacon. This proved successful in many other low-income communities across the country.

In Hazel’s ‘C2 workaholic years’ (2009-16) Geoff took on the role as her ‘roadie’ and drove her all over the UK, taking C2 to London, Margate, Skegness, Solihull, Stoke, Kilmarnock and many more communities that asked for help.

The couple made good use of their VW camper van, with Hazel changing into posh gear for top-level meetings in freezing campsite shower blocks – and getting very strange looks from other campers! One of their favourite sites was at Crystal Palace, only 2.5 miles from Central London.

But when it had to be by train, often the overnight sleeper train, he was always there to meet Hazel at Truro, waiting hours when there were delays. He took Hazel to the University of Exeter a lot, too, and was well known by all the academic team there. Their meetings often overran, and he joked to Professor Katrina Wyatt that he intended to write a book one day called ‘Waiting for Mother!’ which was his nickname for Hazel.

Geoff, an accomplished sportsman, trialled for Charlton and Crystal Palace, and he played top-level football until his mid 30s, when he moved to Cornwall. He always said football saved him – he had an unhappy childhood and it was his escape. His parents were publicans and moved around a lot, and when they did, Geoff frequently had to change schools. He found it hard forever being ‘the new boy’.

In Cornwall, Geoff became a county-ranked squash player, once playing World Champion, Jonah Barrington. And in later years, he took up golf. He instilled a love of sports and being active in Hazel and their sons. Rob took up surfing giant waves in Hawaii and Indonesia, Joe and Ben were footballers and later enjoyed golf with their dad. Geoff also coached a village football team in the1970s and 80s – the boys respected him highly and remember him to this day. They did very well, often winning tournaments all over Cornwall, filling a huge gap when there wasn’t much else for them in such a rural backwater.

Geoff had a wonderful and lifelong sense of mischievous fun and humour, particularly with the couple’s grandchildren. They adored their ‘Papa G’, as they called him. He had a special bond with 12-year-old William, who is non-verbal and has profound Autistic Spectrum Disorder. They found a unique way together to communicate.

Although he often did his best to avoid social gatherings, Geoff actually shone in company and was hilarious with his very quick ‘one liner’ responses, even after he developed Alzheimer’s in 2021.

After a wonderful family Christmas and a short illness, Geoff Stuteley, husband of 54 years, died on Saturday 28 December 2024. He leaves wife Hazel, sons Rob, Joe and Ben and grandchildren Izzy, Will, Elijah and baby Martha. He will be fondly remembered by all for his unwavering help and support in building the impact and national legacy of C2.