Page 12 - br-june-2021

June 2021

OBITUARIES

themselves so much they felt like children again at times, to being
a great organiser of games evenings. Her friends will miss her
enormously; they loved her and she them.

My Mum was an outstanding teacher. She used her strong educational
background (she had 3 degrees by 2010) and passion for Theology to inspire
her students and achieve excellent outcomes for them. This went beyond the
classroom; she delivered A Level classes to adults after school, lectures to
students from across the schools in the local area (one of which I was lucky
enough to attend) and produced articles for educational publications. Her
caring and nurturing qualities meant that she also excelled in a pastoral role
as Head of Year. It is however worth noting that my Mum’s teaching career
may have taken a different path had she succeeded, when she was a
student at Parkstone Grammar (where she had spent most of her career)
some years before, in selling the School by putting up a ‘for sale’ sign outside
along with two friends. Fortunately, despite a couple of good offers, their
efforts were not successful.
My Mum was also an excellent priest. When Antony became Archdeacon
and recommended my Mum to Wool he told the parish reps that he rated
her in the top ten of priests in the Diocese-a claim for which he was soon
vindicated. Far be it from me to disagree with the Archdeacon Antony, but in
my (far from impartial opinion)…she was the top 10!
My Mum’s faith was central and integral to her identity as an individual, and it
was in fulfilling this role, her calling, that many of her greatest personal
qualities shone through:
My Mum was innovative and forward-thinking. In her own words, she believed
in going beyond a ‘this is how we’ve always done it approach’ to becoming
mission and community focused. Some members of the church family at Holy
Rood describe my Mum as a “breath of fresh air” and “a burst of energy and
sunshine” when she arrived, who challenged others to look at church in a
new and exciting way. She believed in a “Church without walls”; not
constrained by physical or social boundaries, that
served its community and was brought to the people.
She lead and inspired others to follow. One member
of the church family summed it up very well: -“she
seemed to have an idea, voice it and it happened.
Others followed.” My Mum revitalised the work of the
church with young people; introducing initiatives such
as Messy Church, and Open the Book. The latter

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