Lawrence (Laurie/Irish) Edward Monaghan passed away on 17th December 2022 aged 69 years. Laurie died suddenly at the Royal Surrey Hospital after a short stay in hospital. He is lovingly remembered by his wife Pat, his daughter Jenny and son Nigel as well as his grandchildren, Rohan, Logan and Matilda. Laurie will be sorely missed by all those who knew and loved him, he will be remembered for his small stature and loud voice, especially at Crawley Rugby Club his home from home.

Laurie spent many years travelling the world building flight simulators. He could be on the other side of the world and would still find a friend to have a drink and a chat with, that was part of his charm. After redundancy from Redifusion, Laurie worked for a variety of different companies including APV, Foxboro, Sony and Brammer, all jobs that allowed him to meet different people, continue to develop his engineering skills and enjoy adding to stories of his travels.

Laurie's true home was always Crawley Rugby Football Club, he joined the club aged 20 and that, as they say was that. The club was always the place Laurie felt most at home, his love of rugby was clear to all who knew him and is a passion that is shared by his children and his grandchildren. Laurie could often be found both on and off the pitch, playing for the mens teams and then helping set up and coach the mini's section. Numerous times over the years Laurie 'gave up' coaching the mini's, but the draw of passing on his passion was always too much for him. Many mini's have benefited from his enthusiasm and loudness of a Sunday morning, the club will be a quieter place without Laurie's voice, coaching from the side-lines or refereeing from the balcony.

We will be celebrating Laurie's life in the best way possible, with a service at Surrey and Sussex Crematorium at 2:15pm on Friday 13th January (a date that Laurie would have laughed at!) followed by the wake at Crawley Rugby Football Club, all are welcome to attend. We ask that, in light of Laurie's passion for rugby, that rugby shirts and jeans be worn to the funeral, or really tacky waistcoats (something he always loved at Christmas). Laurie would want us to raise a glass, or two in his memory and share our stories of a man who is loved by many. Please make any charitable donations to the Wooden Spoon Children's rugby charity.

Service date and time

Friday 13th January 2023, 2:15pm

Surrey & Sussex Crematorium, Balcombe Road, Crawley, RH10 3NQ