Francis Xavier Pons BSc (Hons) CEng FIET, March 1948 – January 2022
Published: Mon 31 Jan 2022
Francis Xavier – Xavier to his friends – passed away on 10 January 2022, aged 73.
His death had come as a shock since he had been in touch via video call the day before, and he was in good spirits and maintained his good humour.
He had been in Sutton, UK, receiving a stem cell transplant. He was extremely grateful to all the doctors, nurses and staff who had taken such good care of him, both in Gibraltar and the UK.
I first met Xavier at the Gibraltar Technical and Dockyard School. In those days, pre frontier closure, Xavier and his family lived in La Linea, and he used to commute daily to school either by bus or on his much-loved bicycle.
The class of 1964 later became a close-knit group of friends that have remained in touch throughout the years. Xavier was a natural organiser and arranged various class get-togethers marking significant decades.
Years later, our paths met again when we were studying at Loughborough.
Xavier was an electrical engineer who rose to be the last City Electrical Engineer in Gibraltar and the first Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority.
He was a member of the IET and became their corresponding member and country representative before being made a Fellow.
He was very involved in the Gibraltar Group of Professional Engineers and served in the committee for many years at various stages as Secretary, Treasurer, Vice Chairman and Chairman.
I always enjoyed his company and looked forward to our monthly committee meetings and our subsequent adjournment to the bar where we would put the world to rights.
He was instrumental in arranging visits to Gibraltar for presidents of the various Engineering Institutions, organising the group´s symposium on Energy Beyond 2040, and in 2018 the very successful celebrations of the Gibraltar group´s 60th Anniversary. He was well-liked in the profession and had many friends who he cherished.
He is survived by his wife Christine, four children and seven grandchildren.
Christine cared for him until he sadly passed away, holding his hand as he did. He worked incredibly hard to provide for his children and grandchildren, giving them the best possible start in life and has left an incredible legacy.
A rock to his family in the truest sense of the word – he will be greatly missed.