A SUCCESSFUL Bushey businessman and loving family man has died aged 74.

Christopher Brant, who took over his family’s stonemasonry business and managed two DIY stores in the village, passed away after a short illness on December 18.

A keen sportsman in his youth, Mr Brant suffered with a degenerative arthritic condition for most of his adult life, something that restricted his movement in his later years.

His father, Percival Brant, was known around Bushey for setting up P Brant and Sons stonemasons, in Park Road, in the 1930s.

Christopher, along with his elder brother Neville, took over the business when the pair left school and it was while working as a stonemason that he met his wife Jennifer in 1957.

She said: “People admired him throughout his life for his determination in dealing with his condition. He would never complain and would never give up - he would help other people despite his disability.”

The couple were married in 1960 and went on to have three children, Joanna, Nicola and Rebecca, after moving to the Cassiobury estate in Watford.

A DIY enthusiast, Mr Brant set up The Home Decorator store, in Park Road, in 1964 and later Moatfield Stores, in Harcourt Road, both of which he ran until 1988.

Throughout his life, it was Mr Brant’s enthusiasm for sport that most defined his steely determination to battle his disability.

Once a league tennis and table tennis player in Bushey and Cassiobury, the gardening enthusiast turned to short mat bowls when his condition became more restrictive.

A Watford FC fan, Mr Brant would regularly go to games at Vicarage Road and at one time held a season ticket.

He was an active member of the Bushey and Oxhey Round Table for 11 years and would tow the festive sleigh during the annual door-to-door charity collections around Bushey.

Mr Brant later joined The 41 Club after reaching the age limit for round tablers where he remained a member for a further 34 years.

With his wife, he was able to indulge his love of France and the couple went on caravan holidays around the country for some 30 years.

Mrs Brant said: “Nothing was too much of a challenge for him.

"He was very much a family man and was able to walk all three of our daughters down the aisle, the most recent being October, which was lovely.

"I will miss his wicked sense of humour and his determination to never be beaten.”