longer face life as a cancer victim.

Eighty-year-old Mr. George Kokott, who could barely walk, forced himself to visit all his closest friends before committing suicide, an inquest heard yesterday.

His body was found last New Year's Eve in a workshop owned by Pearman Watlington & Co., the family company which had taken him under its wing. The single stab wound which killed him had penetrated his liver -- the site of the cancer which had made his life unbearable.

The inquest heard that Polish-born Mr. Kokott was believed to have lost all his family in concentration camps in the Second World War. He fought with the Allies and became a US citizen, but emigrated to Bermuda in 1952, where he became known for his water skiing exploits.

After working as a bar man at the Princess hotel he got a job as night watchman at Miles Supermarket, operated along with Pearman Watlington & Co. by the Cox family. They gave him an apartment in their main office building and kept him on the payroll out of affection, even taking him on "the trip of a lifetime'' on the QE2 and Concorde.

Mr. Kokott developed cancer in his colon which spread to his liver, and at the time of his death probably had only weeks to live.

Self-employed welder Mr. Frederick Paynter, of Salt House Drive, Smith's, told the inquest he rented a workshop at Pearman Watlington. "I got to know George, who was basically adopted by the Cox family. He would visit me regularly and call in for a chat. I brought him an old deck chair to sit on.

After that he would be in and out of the workshop all day.

"I would describe him as a very proud man who preferred to look after himself. He had a set of keys to the compound and would open up the workshop to allow access when I wasn't there.

"At 7.55 a.m. on December 31 I went to the workshop and opened the locked door. As soon as I looked in I saw George. He was lying on the concrete floor on his right hand side. His face was an ashen colour. I immediately thought he was dead.'' According to Police and medical evidence to the inquest, some time the previous evening Mr. Kokott had sat on the deck chair, placed the tip of the knife into the gap between his shirt buttons and pushed it in with both hands.

He had not died immediately, but had moved around with the help of a metal rod, found clutched in his hand.

The bloodstained deck chair was found overturned, by a pool of blood. Pearman Watlington marine gas station manager Mr. Arthur McClarron, of Daisyfield Drive, Sandys, told the inquest he had been a good friend of Mr. Kokott. At lunchtime on December 30 Mr. Kokott had given him a book even though Mr.

Kokott had only just received it for Christmas. And he had entrusted him with an old Band-Aid box, wrapped in brown paper, containing his gold neck chain, a bracelet, and some money.

"He said he was fed up because he could no longer look after himself. He had developed a certain air to show he was very despondent.

"He was fed up with carrying on the way he was. He said life was not worth living.'' Recording a verdict that Mr. Kokott killed himself, Coroner the Wor. Timothy Marshall said: "In my youth I had the fortunate experience of working at Pearman Watlington in the marine section and while there I too became well acquainted with George.

"Everything the witnesses have said about him, and about how well loved he was by everybody, is indeed true. He was a gentleman, always friendly and always there to assist anybody who needed help. You were always assured he would brighten your day.

"I am sure he will be greatly missed by many people in Bermuda.''