Remembering Rhys

Yn drist iawn, bu farw Griffith Rhys Jones, a oedd yn cael ei adnabod fel “Griff” neu “Rhys”, ar ddydd Gwener y 3ydd o Ragfyr 2021, yn 55 mlwydd oed. Mab annwyl Griffith Tecwyn a Brenda Ann o Bodewran Fawr, tad cariadus i Griffith Daniel, gwr gofalgar i Despina, brawd hoffus i Delyth; llystad, brawd yng nghyfraith, ewythr, a ffrind ffyddlon, caredig, ac amhrisiadwy. Colled enfawr.

Griffith Rhys Jones, known as "Griff" or "Rhys", sadly passed away on Friday 3rd of December 2021, aged 55. Beloved son of Griffith Tecwyn and Brenda Ann of Bodewran Fawr, loving father to Griffith Daniel, caring husband to Despina, fond brother to Delyth; stepfather, brother-in-law, uncle, and a loyal, kind, and invaluable friend. An immeasurable loss.

An unbelievably talented engineer and craftsman, his work was universally regarded as being the best. Rhys' kind heart and willingness to help anyone who needed him saw that he put others before himself without exception. When faced with difficulty, Rhys always had the answer. He was one of a rare breed of classical engineers, with an ability to put pen to paper (or more often, the back of an envelope) to draw out his vision, and a pure talent as a welder and fabricator to then manufacture feats of engineering that should not have been possible for one man alone to achieve. All of this without a computer in sight. Indeed, it was a shock for many when he started to use a smartphone.

Many would have witnessed this during his time in the Carbon department in Anglesey Aluminium. He also loved to teach and nurture the next generation of engineers and he took many young talents under his wing over the years. His patience and ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms and to also show how to put them into practice, made him a teacher second to none. Not only did he do this while he worked as a teacher at Coleg Menai, but also in his own time during his retirement. A true testament to his kind nature.

While his son was a member of local bands, he also found the time to ferry the band members and their gear across North Wales, acting as tour manager, roadie, technician and sometimes also making up a significant portion of the audience at the gigs they played.

Rhys always loved going to a get together or a party and was often one of the last to leave with an uncanny ability to talk for hours.