FOND tributes were paid to a Chobham entrepreneur during his funeral service in the magnificent setting of the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace.

The ceremony on Saturday last week honoured the life of Alan Greenwood, whose unexpected death on Thursday, January 29 caused shockwaves across several communities.

The venue reflected his family’s links with civic life during Alan’s childhood, when his father Douglas and mother Betty were Mayor and Mayoress of Surbiton.

Alan was 76 when he died while on holiday in Tenerife with his partner, Carol Long.

He was best-known locally as the owner of the Mimbridge Garden Estate on the Chobham-Horsell border, where his funeral business, Alan Greenwood and Sons, is based and where he kept his collection of vintage fire engines.

Alan became a funeral director in 1993, after building up a business portfolio that began with a small removals company when he was 19 and expanded into heavy haulage, groundwork, excavators, concrete crushers, demolition, specialist soils and waste tankers.

Alan bought the then Mimbridge Garden Centre in 1987. He built a home on the site, where he lived with his children and partner Sandy Jeive. Sandy initially ran the centre’s café.

He had applied for a job with a Kingston funeral director at the age of 16, to be told he was too young for the work.

He eventually realised his dream by founding Alan Greenwood and Sons, with the first branch at Ewell. The company now has 30 branches across Surrey, with Alan’s son Adam running the company. Sandy also worked for the business until she died in 2019.

Alan’s sister, Valerie, was in charge of the finances until her death in 2017, when her funeral service was at Hampton Court’s chapel. His sister Mary works at the company’s Bookham branch.

Alan’s son James said during his tribute at Saturday’s service: “Dad’s passing has left a huge wake behind him, from the roads he travelled, the industries he shaped, and in the hearts of people who knew him.

“Dad’s creed and only thing he respected was hard work. He built an empire with only one good arm, two good legs and a razor-sharp mind turning grit and determination into something extraordinary.

Son Adam said in his eulogy: “Alan lived his life like only he could. Unapologetically. Uncompromising. Unfiltered. People throw the word ‘unique’ around but I'm certain that in his case it couldn't be more true.

“Alan’s passion for work and growth is legendary. He must be the hardest working man I've ever met. He would have worked in his sleep, if he could.”

Alan’s interest in the fire service began when his father was chairman of the Surrey Fire Brigade Committee. His engines are housed in a purpose-built museum at Mimbridge that he opened in 2021.

Becoming a firefighter was not possible due to injuries suffered in an explosion while working in a factory after his rejection by an undertaker. But he had an extensive knowledge of the fire brigade and its appliances and used his engines to raise money for charity.

Alan was a major fundraiser for Children With Special Needs Foundation, which was founded by Gordon Parris when he was Mayor of Surrey Heath. Gordon also provided a tribute at the funeral service.

The service, led by the Rev Simon Douglas Lane, was followed by a private burial in Chobham Cemetery on Monday this week.

Alan leaves his partner Carol, his sisters Mary and Susan, sons Adam and James, Adam’s daughter Kali, James’s wife Erika and their children, Alan James and Rosie.

Alan Douglas Greenwood: October 24, 1949 – January 29, 2026