A popular local cricketer has died at St Helena Hospice, Colchester.

Richard Travis, 53, died on January 4 after a long battle with cancer.

A one-time pupil at Holmwood House, Lexden, and the Ipswich School, Travis, as he was known, became a local entrepreneur and invested in a number of projects, including the former East Hill based Fifi's restaurant and Sloppy Joe's in both Colchester and Bury St Edmunds, as well as the London-based Cafe Pacifico.

He later turned his back on the catering world and worked for a year as a volunteer at the Fulbour Hospital in Cambridge before working as a financial advisor at Lincoln Life and the Witham-based St James's Palace Partnership.

The son of former High Street butchers Ben and June Travis, Richard lived in Stanway and will be remembered for his love of local sport.

An avid cricketer, he played for various sides, including Colchester and East Essex, Elmstead, West Bergholt and Eight Ash Green.

He also played hockey for the Colchester Hockey Club, Colchester Exiles and the Young Conservatives before going on to manage The Travellers.

Richard leaves a wife, Erika, who said: "Richard was a wonderful man. He was humble and completely non-materialistic. Possessions meant absolutely nothing to him. He just loved people, talking to them and listening to them. He didn't care who they were or what they owned. He was simply interested in them as human beings."

Published Friday, January 10, 2003

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette