Friday, October 21, 2016

And the Sun Shone

Almost a month after the untimely death of my brother-in-law from a massive heart attack at the fairly young age of 57, after visits backwards and forwards to his home and family, to coroner's and registry offices, to banks and building societies and the funeral directors we were able to finally say farewell to him yesterday.

We entered the crematorium to the strains of John Lennon's Imagine, we sang William Blake's words during Jerusalem and left to the strains of his favourites  The Beautiful South.  Much was expressed about his great sense of humour, his sense of fun,  his unselfish helpfulness towards friends and neighbours, his love of wildlife and animals, the Peak District and North Wales, his adopting of stray cats, his love of computers, his help with many organisations by dressing up and fund raising, his ability to hoard anything and everything if he thought it would be useful.  Along the way, even though injured by a fall whilst out with the Edale mountain rescue and spending many years fighting pain,  he helped raise hundreds of pounds for local charities. 

 Friends and neighbours came to say farewell.  His cousins, aunt and uncles came from York, Colchester, Bridlington and the Isle of Wight as well as from nearby Mansfield.  The sun shone, tears were shed, memories were shared and there were many smiles.  A good send off for a man described by quite a few of his pals on social media as 'a top bloke'.

32 comments:

  1. You have truly lost a very special person, my condolences.

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  2. So sorry for your big loss. He sounds like a wonderful man who lived a full and worthy life. His funeral, music and friends must have made for a beautiful funeral.
    Sending prayers your way

    Helen xx

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  3. It sounds like you were all able to celebrate his life well. My thoughts are with you Rosie. B xx

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    1. We did, thank you for your kind words, Barbara:)

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  4. Sincere condolences, sounds like a wonderful celebration of his life.

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  5. This was so tragic Rosie. The older I get I realise that our life on Earth is short. I lost my Uncle Ian just 70, on August Bank Holiday Monday. He had a heart attack after he had taken the dog for a walk and the paramedics were unable to resuscitate him. I didn't attend the funeral but was told that nobody had a bad word to say about him. He was just a lovely and friendly man. My Uncle also had a great sense of humour and they played 'always look on the bright side of life' as they passed the coffin on the way out of the church! Your brother-in-law sounds like he was a wonderful person and very popular too. It seems to me that he lived a full and rich life - a cause for celebration in the months ahead. x

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    1. Oh, dear I'm so sorry to hear that Simone. Your Uncle sounds like a wonderful and well loved man! I love the song he chose for his funeral - what a great sense of fun. I remember my cousin had Morcambe and Wise's 'Bring me sunshine' played at his as we left the church:)

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  6. He sounds like he was a great person to know and I am sorry for the loss you and all the family face God bless you.x

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  7. So glad you were able to celebrate his life with everyone. I'm sure the day will help you cope a little better with his loss. :-)

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    1. Yes, it was a celebration and although sad, happy too:)

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  8. It is good that your brother in law lived such a full and good life even though it was short and that you were able to celebrate it so well with friends and family. Hugs and continued good thoughts to you and yours. Xxxx

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    1. Thank you Amy your kind thoughts are much appreciated:)

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  9. I was sorry to hear of the sudden loss of your dear brother-in-law and for your husband his only sibling. I hope the farewell to him together with family and friends provided comfort. Thank you for sharing about the person he was and the good things he did to benefit our society. Continuing to think of you and your husband.

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    1. Thank you Linda, your kind words are much appreciated:)

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  10. I was so sorry to hear of the sad and unexpected loss of your brother-in-law. The funeral sounds a celebration of a very lovely man who lived such a full and worthy life. My thoughts continue to be with you both.

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    1. It was sad but a happy occassion too. Thanks for your kind words:)

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  11. You have been in my thoughts Rosie, so sorry for your loss. Take care now x

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  12. It sounds as if you gave a special person a great send off. Sorry for your loss. xx

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  13. I was sorry to hear of your loss in your post a few weeks ago - even more so to hear that he was so young and it was so sudden. The funeral sounds like a lovely celebration of his life and I'm glad it was as happy as such an occasion can be.

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    1. It was a good celebrtion, Louise, thank you:)

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  14. Really sad to hear of your loss. That was the age we lost my father - too young - he would have been 100 this year. Your brother-in-law sounds like a lovely guy. I think we simply need to be grateful that some people come into our lives and stay awhile; it's a privilege to have known them. Take care - I bet he'd want you to smile a lot.

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    1. Thanks, Mike so sad about your father, it is a young age especially nowadays. My Mum would have been 100 this year, we lost my father when he was 45 and I was 5 but my step father got to 91:)

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  15. My condolences Rosie. He sounds like a wonderful man who brought much joy to those he loved. What a fitting way to say goodbye.

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    1. Thank you for your kind thoughts, Marie:)

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  16. I was so sorry to read about your loss. He sounds a very special person who will be missed by so many.

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