Joseph, Esther and Barry writes this of him:

Three years after Ivor's Bar Mitzvah, he left school.
At the time, he had no formal qualifications,
but took a number of government programs over the years,
learning different trades.

Ivor's first computer was invented
by Sir Clive Sinclair,
one of the earliest designed for the mass market.
It was inexpensive and easy to use.
Ivor was hooked on computers from that moment on.
This was about 1984, when computers were starting to be used in the home.
We were able to get a dedicated telephone line for the Internet... before Broadband!

Ivor worked in the Glasgow University Archives department.
He was told by staff that he had an aptitude for computers
and should go for a degree.
His degree, from Glasgow Caledonia University,
was a BSc in multi-media, earned with distinction.
He did not want to go on for an honours degree, however.
Ivor thought of himself as a 'late developer',
and so felt he needed to find work instead.

Ivor's first job was for his cousin, Stephen,
helping him to place client data into a large database.
This was a short, one-year contract, however,
Ivor then went on to work for a large IT company,
where he developed web sites.
A year later, however, the bubble burst for IT work
all over the world.
Many talented IT developers
were left looking for work.

Ivor was single, and lived at home,
where he spent a significant amount of his time
developing his skills on the computer.
By now, he was using the Broadband Internet
for his many on-line activities.

Ivor wanted to stay in Glasgow,
which somewhat narrowed his job prospects
in the work he was trained to do.
However, Ivor was fortunate
that he could afford to wait until things improved
and the right opportunity came along.

Alas, this was not to be,
for today there is a shortage for his skills.

We were often asked why we allowed Ivor to stay at home.
Our answer was that he is our son,
and as parents it is our duty to help him get on.
We know he would have found a place to live on his own
as soon as he was ready to.

However, in 2004, Ivor was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
At the time, he was told he had a 40% chance of survival.
Ivor fought for his life, continuing on
with successive chemotherapy sessions
after only an initial, short, three-week remission.

During his treatment,
many people from all denominations prayed for his full recovery.
Sadly, after a long struggle it became clear
that his treatment was not working.
Ivor said to his mother,
on the afternoon of July 10th, 2005,
that he was finally giving up.
Ivor died in his sleep that night,
at the age of 37.

We hope whoever reads this event in our life
will remember that life must go on.
One may regret what one has done in the past.

But before you do,
or say it you may never get the chance to put it right,
try and think before you act.
When you lose someone close, you always ask yourself
"should I or could I have done this or that?"
We did what we thought best at the time.
We cannot change it now.