Mr John Jago 05 June 1940–07 September 2018

Abstract

Mr John Jago, formerly consultant maxillofacial surgeon at Dumfries and Galloway Hospitals, died peacefully at a hospital in southwest France on 7 September 2018, following a short illness. John Christoper Jago was born in Lincolnshire, where he grew up and had his initial schooling and education before going to Leeds University Dental School. He graduated in 1965 BChD, LDS. After his initial oral surgical training at Leeds, John moved to London for further training. He worked as a registrar to Mr Fickling, first at St George’s Hospital and later at Mount Vernon Hospital, a well respected maxillofacial unit. After he had completed his fellowship, John was promoted to a senior registrar post under Professor Sir Paul Bramley in Sheffield and, in 1975, he was appointed Consultant at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary. He retired in 2000, and moved to France permanently in 2001. John Jago was a much respected, dedicated surgeon, who managed his single-handed consultant post admirably for many years with the help of associate specialists. He also provided trauma cover for Carlisle Hospitals. He was an excellent clinician with vast experience and very logical thought processes, and was exceptionally polite, courteous, and helpful to his patients, colleagues, and all paramedical staff. It was an era when a single-handed consultant was expected to be on-call every day and week. John was very kind, calm, caring, and thoughtful in everything he said and did. He was fiercely loyal, and cared about the welfare of his juniors. I was fortunate to work under his guidance as a house officer in oral surgery at St George’s (now the Lanesborough Hotel). John met Beryl Germaine Smith, a chemistry student at Leeds, whom he married in 1966, and she survives him with two children and five grandchildren. Throughout his career, John spent all of his annual leave in the Dordogne area of France with his wife and children, where he renovated a tumbledown farmhouse that eventually became his permanent second home. John enjoyed a fulfilling and happy retirement with Beryl, travelling the world (India, China, Vietnam, and throughout Europe), walking (he walked the 300 km of the Camino de Santiago, the route of St James of Compostela), and he took up archery and won several trophies in the veterans category. He continued to enjoy fine wines and maintained a well stocked cellar. He also grew exotic flowers and tomatoes without the need of a greenhouse. John was a Francophile and had just recently been awarded French citizenship. He integrated well into the French way of life, having made a great circle of friends locally, and the entire village was represented by many friends and their families at his funeral service in St Jean d’Ataux. John will be greatly missed by his family and friends. He will be remembered as a kind gentleman, a great friend to many. He always had time for people, would chat to anyone, and always showed an interest in others. It was an honour and privilege to have been his friend for 50 years.