Posted at Facebook by son Robert Secchi:
"It’s with great sadness to say that we’ve lost our dear father and husband John Secchi. He fought hard and his memory will live on in myself, my brother Rob, and my mum Carol. Thank you all so much for your messages of love and support, it’s so nice to know he was well liked by all his friends and family. Please raise a glass for my dad.
RIP, Dad, we’ll miss you."
And an appreciation by Robert Hallums.
"It is with a heavy heart and great sadness that I learnt today of the passing of John Secchi, and condolences and thoughts go out to his family after the ordeal of the last couple of weeks. They have told me that they much appreciated all the messages of support that came from racers here and abroad.
I met John at North London when I returned to racing in the early '80s and he remained as a cornerstone for the club. I have recently thought back, recalling the memorable moments, and will always remember when he first came to Le Mans in 1989 with club members, and found him shivering away before dawn wearing an inadequate Caribinieri jacket to see him through the night. He came with us quite a few times, each trip being memorable for many reasons, the last time in 2015 with a shambolic camping trip In 1998, we formed Walmington-on-Sea racing team and ventured into Europe as part of the European Endurance Championship. These were all very enjoyable, especially the 24-hour races in Belgium. Our efforts were rewarded in 2004 when we won the last running of the championship.
Johns love was always with Retro racing and always maintained that Tazio Nuvolari was the best racing driver ever. He helped formulate what many now enjoy as UKRRA and Tottenham Retro, and also loved racing with commercial cars from the '60s. Without seeming to sound like a cliche, the world will be a poorer place without him, North London Club will seem empty now, and I will miss the big fella enormously. But he was much more than just a clubmate, he was also a very good friend, and I will miss him enormously."
John had been a member at Slotblog since February 2006. I always meant to ask him what his tagline "one of wos" meant and now I won't be able to do that.