assistant.chaplain@grenoblechurch.org

Alan Golton is the honorary Assistant Chaplain of our church. Born in 1929, he went to Bancrofts School, Woodford Green, and then studied chemistry at Oxford University, where he also did research for a D.Phil. After that he did National Service in the R.A.F., while his fiancée, Lorina, taught at a school in India. They married in 1956, and had two children while Alan taught at Leicester University, before spending a year in Canada at Calgary. During that year away, his wife had an operation for breast cancer. On Alan's return, he taught at what became the University of Aston, in Birmingham. A recurrence of cancer led to Lorina's death in 1964, when their children were aged 6 and 4.

Two years later Alan married Valerie, and they subsequently had two more children. Eight years later Valerie also had breast cancer, but has had no later recurrence, although she has suffered from arthritis since 1976. In 1984 Alan took early retirement, as a result of a cut-back in government funding to the university. He had became a Reader [= lay preacher] in 1979, at the church the family had attended for 17 years, at about the time that a long interregnum began. Before his retirement the Bishop asked him to consider ordination, with a view to his being in unpaid charge of the parish – and this came to pass in 1985/6, with full responsibility for the church from 1987 until Alan retired for a second time in 1996.

Alan & Valerie came to Grenoble in 1997, after selling their home in the UK, and bought a house at St-Nizier du Moucherotte. They have been fully involved with St-Marc's since then, including being the local representatives for Tearfund and the I.C.S.

Alan's hobbies are photography, reading, walking and appreciating classical music, art and archeology. He is also used to turning his hand to most sorts of 'do-it-yourself'!

Valerie was a physical education teacher before she married Alan, and took on a ready-made family! Her gift of hospitality is much used. She is at present leader of the Catering Committee, and also encourages the daily reading of the Bible, using Scripture Union notes.