Double memorial

Back blip due to exhaustion yesterday! The Plymouth philharmonic choir lost two members this last month who happened to be mother and daughter. Greta was a founder member of the choir and sang as a tenor in latter years. She was 94 and had hearing issues and had become light sensitive so lived in semi darkness. Nicola was her daughter who was 60 and who cared for her. It was a great shock when we learnt a shortly after we broke for summer that she had died! She had had extensive cancer, inoperable, which she did not know about! At that point Greta was in hospital and she said that she thought Nicola would like the choir to sing thd John Rutter Blessing. Before it could all be arranged Greta herself died so we had a double funeral.

Greta and Nicola attended the Congregational church in Loddiswell in the south hams which is an hours drive from Plymouth where they lived! It was one of the few congregational churches that refused to amalgamate with other free churches! Each church was given the option to choose! They both had a deep faith and were always willing to share and encourage others. They were both very musical, Greta played the piano and Nicola played the flute, the clarinet and the saxophone and was in a wind band! She was also the activist for the philharmonic choir and as such we have lost a trove of information as she hadn’t shared her password with anyone!

We left home at 8.35, margy driving, to pick up marguerite and then drive across to Jen who was taking five including herself to the venue! We arrived at about 10.15 before the hearses arrived and waited for our conductor and keyboard player to arrive plus all the other singers, all women, so a two part arrangement.

Greta and Nicola were the last of their family but they had cousins who vaguely knew then who came and delivered the reminiscences of a cousin in Australia who had shared time in childhood with Greta and a letter from that lady’s brother who lived in rotherham! They both remembered Greta standing on her head as often as possible and even in later life on choir trips she would do the same! Head stand at the Eiffel Tower!

The service was very simple with four hymns, prayers, family reminiscences and eulogies from church family and musical family for each of them! At the end of the service we all left quietly leaving the bodies to be taken to the crematorium later! The church had prepared a massive amount of food for the wake, all homemade cakes and sausage rolls and special sandwiches for the gluten intolerant! A typical church family event and very special and welcoming!