A beloved college teacher in Cornwall died after his health declined while waiting for a delayed operation. Christopher Tomlinson, 58, from Falmouth, was a married and retired secondary school teacher and postie.
An inquest into his death opened in Exeter on Wednesday, June 19, and heard that he had suffered from Marfan syndrome - a disorder of the body's connective tissues - and required surgery which over a period of time was scheduled and cancelled for a variety of reasons.
The surgery was elected to progress at Derriford and Christopher was admitted on May 27. Alison Longhorn, area coroner for Exeter and greater Devon said that unfortunately, Christopher's health deteriorated and he sadly passed away following the operation at Derriford Hospital.
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His death was not ruled as being under suspicious circumstances and a medical cause of death of 1a stroke, 1b dilated aortic arch operated, and 2, Marfan syndrome, was given.
After moving from Birmingham to Cornwall more than 20 years ago with his family, Christopher fast became a part of the Falmouth and Penryn community. He was a teacher for many years at Penryn College where he was head of House for Killigrew, before stepping back in 2020.
He dedicated 17 years of his life to the school as an IT and business teacher, and has been described as being "hugely proud and popular". In recent years Christopher left the teaching profession on medical grounds but continued to serve the community through food delivery to the elderly and working on the postal rounds for the Royal Mail.
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