Tony was born in Tynygarn, South Wales, on 28th March 1943. His parents, Ernest and Alice Summerfield, were both strong Christians. Ernest died in a mining accident when Tony was just three years old, and this was before his brother David was born. Tony had three siblings from his mother’s first marriage—Joe, Pat, and Rose. (Her first husband also died as a result of working in the coal mines.)

Tony spent most of his childhood living in Penyfai, Glamorgan, and attended Penyfai Primary School, later going on to Garw Grammar School.

He, his mother, and his brother David were all regular members of Beulah Independent Pentecostal Church in Aberkenfig. Whatever the weather, they walked the two miles there three times every Sunday.

Tony and his brother David joined the St John’s Ambulance Brigade in their early teens. They were among hundreds of cadets at Cardiff Castle when Lady Mountbatten took the salute, and they also attended St John’s Ambulance summer camps three years in a row.

Tony’s father had been best friends with Tommy Thomas (Uncle Tom), who went to Cefn Cribbwr Church. As a result, Tony and David became lifelong friends with two of his sons, Maldwyn and Jonathan. Two other friends from Cefn Cribbwr were Paul and Peter Barnes. Together they became known as “the Welsh lot” by the friends they made at the Isle of Wight youth camp.

The Aberkenfig Church, Cefn Cribbwr Church, and Elim Bridgend held monthly joint youth meetings on Saturday evenings, with each church providing two items. It was through this link that they were introduced to Elim youth camps—first in Cornwall, and later on the Isle of Wight.

Tony was a keen sportsman. He loved, and was good at, football and cross-country running. He also played the guitar and sang duets with his brother. Tony wanted to be an accountant and worked in the office of a local quarry while attending night school to study accountancy.

In August 1963, Tony went to the Elim Youth Camp on the Isle of Wight with young people from his church and other local churches. It was there that he met his wife-to-be, Linda. Tony moved to Watford, where Linda lived, and got a job in the accounts department of Radio Rentals.

Linda was a member of Watford Elim Church, so Tony became part of that church, serving as a deacon, Sunday school superintendent, and guitar player. Tony and Linda, along with another couple, Gordon and Hilary, formed a singing group called The Foretellers, later renamed The Proclaimers, and they played at various churches in the area.

Before Tony and Linda were married in August 1966, Tony went to work in the accounts department of Harvey, Bradfield and Toyer (the owners of Bishop’s Food Stores) in Ruislip. It was there that his career path changed and he began working in IT.

While Tony was away, Linda gave birth to their first child, Samantha Louise, in July 1968, followed by Matthew Anthony in October 1970.

In 1972, Tony got a job at ICL in Letchworth as a Systems Analyst, so the family moved to Hitchin and became part of Letchworth Elim Church, where Tony served as a deacon, treasurer, Sunday school teacher, and more.

In 1980, Tony, along with a group of Christian friends, felt that God was calling them to start a church in Hitchin. Tony and his family visited their former pastor, Brian Barnett, in the States, who was coming to England to start Church of God churches here. In March 1981, a small group started Hitchin Church of God in a local community center with Tony as the pastor.

In March 1998, the church moved into its own purpose-built building in the centre of Hitchin and became Hitchin Christian Centre. Tony pastored the church for 31 years, and then his son Matt became the pastor. The congregation is now called Zeo Church.

One of Tony’s greatest achievements in the Hitchin community was starting mentoring programs in all three senior schools in the town. He was deeply moved by seeing young people arriving at school pale and hungry, and he started a Breakfast Club which was available every morning before school in the church.

He persuaded Waitrose and Marks & Spencer to partner with the church and provide all the staples—cereals, bread, coffee, tea, milk, and more—which helpers collected each morning. One morning we even had smoked salmon and strawberries! The church Breakfast Club went on to win Kellogg’s Best Breakfast Club in the UK. Through this work, Tony helped many young people get their lives back on track.

Aside from this, Tony became a mentor and chaplain to various business leaders and retailers in Hitchin, He also played a key role in advocating for the community on the Local Strategic Partnership of North Herts Council.

Tony also held various roles within the Church of God: Overseer of Cross-Cultural Ministry, Overseer of Scotland, and Superintendent of Western Europe, overseeing eight countries and 150 churches. God used him mightily.

Tony was a very proud father to Matt and Sam, and a grandfather to Andy, Dan, and Coral. He became a great-grandfather the day before he died, to Madeline Grace, daughter of Andy and Alice. He deeply loved his daughter-in-law Amy and his son-in-law Steve.

The last two years of Tony’s life were spent in a home with Alzheimer’s, which has been a very sad time for us all. But we remember the amazing, dynamic man he was, and that is what we hold in our hearts.