Nicolette Comport 1944-2010
It is with enormous sadness and regret that we announce the death, on 20 March 2010, of Nicolette Comport.
Nicolette was a long serving member of the Chislehurst Society and a member of its Executive Committee. She served for many years as an active member of the planning sub-committee. She will be sadly missed by her many friends and her colleagues in the Chislehurst Society and it will be difficult to replace the energy and dedication she brought to taking care of Chislehurst's heritage. The following is a note written by one of her fellow Committee members, parts of which were reproduced in the 15 April edition of the Chislehurst Times.
"Nicolette Comport, a well-known resident of Chislehurst, died on 20 March 2010 at the Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough, Kent. She had been fighting cancer for some time and at the PRUH she received the very best attention. To the end she never gave up hope of recovery. She was born in Chislehurst in 1944, and had devoted much of her earlier life to caring for her ageing parents at the family home in Park Road. Little is known of her educational background and career, but she had a responsible job in London, and when she retired from it fairly recently, she was able to spend even more time pursuing her Chislehurst interests. She loved Chislehurst and was prepared to fight to maintain its architectural heritage and its rural aspects, the pleasing mixture of town and country that appeals to so many people. She was of the same type that fought so hard to preserve the commons in the nineteenth century and in the twentieth century to preserve the land that ultimately became the National Trust property here.
Fighting for worthwhile objectives, and never giving up, were two of her most prominent characteristics, reflecting her very strong and persistent personality. Her membership of the Chislehurst Society gave her practical scope for expression of these traits. She was an active member for almost thirty years, during which time she served as a Road Steward and as a member of the executive committee and its planning subcommittee. She employed her letter writing skills in composing letters of observations and objections relating to planning applications that appeared to be in breach of planning law. These were sent for the consideration of the appropriate Council Planning Committee, often with positive results.
She was an excellent liaison officer between the people she helped to serve, and the Chislehurst Society, sometimes as a one-woman campaigner, sometimes a team member, never afraid to express an opinion about some issue dear to her heart that concerned the good of Chislehurst and its people. She was also very active outside the committee, supporting various good causes, and engaging in many leisure activities, including theatre-going with friends. In past years she had travelled abroad, to Europe and the USA.
Even when she became seriously ill she would rarely talk to her friends about her personal problems, because she was a remarkably self-contained individual. She was of a very private character and some have seen her as tending to keep her friends as individuals rather than as a group. Other friends have commented that it was quite difficult to get to know her really well, to discover the real inner woman, but in her they found a true friend, who was always ready to listen, and talk, and discuss a wide variety of topics. She was very loyal and supportive, and befriending people in an unobtrusive manner. She also had a robust sense of humour and laughter was never far away. Nicolette will be deeply missed by her friends.
Her funeral on 8 April was held at the Church of the Annunciation, very near her home. The vicar, Father Bill Beer, conducted the service, reminding all those present that it was to be one of thanksgiving for a life well-lived. It was attended by numerous Chislehurst Society and other friends and members of the family. There was a retiring collection in the church in thanksgiving for Nicolette's life, to be given to Age Concern. The service was followed by a Committal and Cremation service at Lewisham Crematorium at Hither Green, and finally a reception was held at the Garden Room of the Bull Hotel in Chislehurst, where guests were able to talk and enjoy refreshments in the fresh air and sunshine of a fine spring afternoon.
Her surname has an ancient local connection. History relates that one John Comport leased the manor of Kemnal in 1538 and was the first of his family to live there. Nicolette appeared unaware of any genealogical connection between his family and hers, but for her friends it may be pleasant to speculate upon the possibility of a link with a very old and respectable Chislehurst family."