Funerals

Susan Farrow:

On Saturday 13 December 2008 Susan Elizabeth Farrow passed away aged 61. Born 18 May 1947 in London, she completed her education and teacher training in her home city before going on to teach in schools in Croydon and Stirling. She married John Farrow in January 1973 at Dunblane Cathedral and after buying an apartment in Garajau in 1976 they moved permanently to the island in 1980. A year later she established a school for the British children on the island and as it grew so did her reputation. She will always be remembered as a firm but fair teacher/headmistress who worked hard to create a friendly and nurturing learning environment.

Susan was also a member of the Royal Geological Society and still found time to work with historian Luis de Sousa Melo to produce an 'Illustrated History of Madeira'. Copies were printed in English and Portuguese. Later she and her husband wrote and produced the first new travel guide on Madeira for thirty years. It was an instant success, selling over 5,000 copies in the UK in the first year.

Susan is survived by her husband John and two children Ross and Emma and will be missed by all who knew her.

Symone Harrison:

"Symone was waiting for a long time!"

It must have been more than 10 years ago that she told me that her husband had died while they were staying together at the Carlton Hotel, leaving her alone. She went on to declare firmly "I am going nowhere else until I go to join my darling husband in the English Cemetery."

Symone was a lady with unchanging habits and strong opinions.

She came very regularly to the Sunday morning service here in the English Church. She always arrived early and would sit on the seat on the right-hand side of the cobbled area looking expectantly at all comers and hoping that someone would join her there for a chat. I remember one day asking her if she had come by taxi and was taken aback by her indignant reply 'Taxi? Oh no! I always walk, all the way down from the hotel and all the way back, that is how I keep going. I'm in my eighties you know.' I did not know and would not have guessed for she was always smart and her hair kept immaculate.

She had a good voice and even from the front of the church she could be clearly heard. One day I told her that I enjoyed hearing her sing. To this she responded 'Oh I just love singing hymns, I enjoy both singing and dancing. I was a 'Tiller Girl' in my younger days and I can still kick my legs.' A short demonstration followed which proved that this claim was true! She was an unforgettable character!

I had the opportunity to hear more of her life story. She and her husband had no children of their own but adopted a daughter.

In more recent years, she has generously supported Rui enabling him to have a good education and professional training.

Since his marriage she has enjoyed being 'grandma' to the growing family. Her love and kindness has since been returned. When she was no longer able to stay at the Hotel, Symone was welcomed into the caring security of their home until her death last weekend.

Sadly, very few of the people here who knew her are still alive and able to be with us for today to say their own 'Goodbyes'.

She has had a wait of 24 years to join her husband in the cemetery. May she now know peace in the presence of God.

Thanksgiving for the service of John Ranalow:

One of the most important things that Paul taught was that we are the embodiment of Christ's life on Earth. He talked about the church as the Body of Christ. It was a new and revolutionary discovery for the new converts. For most people religion was a matter of going through the motions, it had little religious or philosophical weight. Paul talked about a God, who was one of us, came to us, died for us, and rising again, promised a resurrection for us too. A God who asked us to love one another as he has loved us.

Each one of us, he said, has a special part to play that only we can do. No-one can do it in the same way that we can. "Remember", said Jesus, "you did not choose me, no, I chose you." Like a human body with many parts each needed to keep the whole body healthy. Not everyone will do the same things, not every one will get the same recognition, some people will do more and may be better known. But everyone is known personally by God. Paul talked of many gifts that God can use, people who listen to others and who can offer their own experience, people who can teach and share their knowledge, people who have been given strong faith to help those of us whose faith is strained to breaking point. There are people called by God who by their study, and touch can bring healing and comfort. People who have the sensitivity to understand what is really happening not just what seems to be going on, and who by that sensitivity can bring understanding and perhaps peace. Some have not just spiritual resources but solid material resources that they can make available too. Many people here including me, will be grateful to a friend for practical help offered at the right time.

I'm sorry that I've only known John over the last year and a half when he has been so unwell and has only been able to play a very limited part in the life of the church here and the wider community. But he has served us all here for forty years in so many ways, using all these Gifts that God gave to him and to him alone.

A tribute to John Vivian Aplin Ranalow 17th April 1930 - 15th April 2008

When John first arrived on Madeira he taught English and gave private advice to English residents. With the advent of the Common Market, he acted as a lawyer especially to the English speaking community, ever ready with support and advice. As a Churchwarden, responsible for the day to day life of the church and as a Trustee of the church with responsibility to ensure that the generosity of the past is used for the good of the present.

He had these jobs because he was trusted. You could trust John. You trusted him as a man of personal integrity and because you knew that he was completely committed to the good of the people on whose behalf he worked and to the church of which he was so important a part.

He was brave - Elisabeth Burca recalls an occasion when he confronted rioters who were about to attack their block of flats during the 74 revolution, and persuaded them to go away.

John served our community here for forty years in many ways, using the Gifts that God gave him and to him alone.

John's life was also coloured by his deep love of classical music, and his keen interest in the subject led him to be one of the founder members of the Associação de Amigos de Conservatório de Música da Madeira. This local Association continues to be very active providing an excellent musical link for both resident and visiting music lovers. John was Secretary of the Association until shortly before he moved to the Quinta Dona Olga. Fellow members will recall his vast collection of Classical CDs covering a wide range of composers and top quality recordings, most of which were donated to the Conservatório. Listening to his favourite music gave him great comfort and enjoyment during these last years, when he was no longer able to live independently.

Many of us who have arrived in recent years did not have the opportunity of knowing John well, but all who had known him over the years spoke so highly of the quiet and gentle man who had touched their lives. His generosity to Holy Trinity Church is overwhelming, and it is a testament to him that his mark has been well and truly left within the Parsonage, which has been so much more comfortable since we received the gift of his furniture, paintings, some books and his ornaments when he moved to Quinta Dona Olga. John settled there well and received a high standard of care.

Those who had the task of effecting this move had many a chuckle, as he was a compulsive "shopper" with endless "doubles" of household items which included china and cutlery, and many other items. We will continue to derive pleasure from all of these, we hope for many years ahead.

In addition to the many household items that John had accumulated, a mention must be made of the enormous collection of wonderful books in which John took great joy in collecting. Many purchased from the bookshop of fellow resident Mr John Farrow at the Livraria Inglesa, and a large number from British book clubs If John had entered the era of internet shopping, he would undoubtedly have been one of Amazons most highly rated customers such was his addiction to book collecting. Many of his most valuable books are now at the European Cultural library at the Quinta Magnolia.

It is only now that the true depth of his commitment to this church and its community has become clear. John chose to use the monies from the sale of his apartment not for his own benefit, but for the benefit of the church he loved. His gift has meant that the future of our church is even more secure than it has been in living memory. His gift is part of the new confidence that we feel here. God has been good to us, and in so many different ways John's life has been a part of that.

John died quietly, as he had lived a great deal of life, on Tuesday morning 15th April. In the last few months he had struggled with increasingly poor health and so we can only feel that for him, his struggle is over and that he is now at peace.

Friday 29 February:

Much as we might wish to record only the enjoyable and cheerful events in life, life itself is not like that. Today our church hosted a thanksgiving service for the life of John Cossart, chairman of Henriques & Henriques, one of the foremost Madeira wine companies. John died on 25 February, his 63rd birthday.

John was born on Madeira but went to England for his schooling and subsequently spent many years away from the island, returning in 1991 to take over the chairmanship of the family wine company following the death of his father. The company was in decline and John has spent the last 17 years building the business back up, personally setting himself up as a global ambassador for his company in particular and Madeira wine in general. His success in this venture was due partly to his business acumen, but possibly most importantly to the charm he brought to both his business and personal affairs. He was a delightful man: personable, courteous and much respected by friends and workforce alike, and it was a tribute to his egalitarian nature that of the 135 people present at the service half were British and half were Madeiran.

The thanksgiving followed the private funeral service in the mortuary chapel and burial in the English cemetery, and, in deference to the dual nationalities present, both the Lords Prayer and the address - from Anthony Miles - were said in both languages.

John was born a Roman Catholic but found great solace in our Anglican church - hence the funeral, interment and thanksgiving on Anglican soil. He was a generous supporter, freely giving of his time and his produce: our communion and reception wine comes from his company, and, despite our genuine efforts to pay for them, he famously said, "You'll never get a bill from me". And we never have.

John was a true gentleman. He was much loved and will be much missed. Our sympathies go to his family and particularly to his children, Edward and Maria.

To read the Obituary in The Independent, please click here.

Fr Alan Rogers:

Alan fell ill rather suddenly in February 2006 after taking a service for the renewal of wedding vows, and the Sunday Parish Communion. Looking back we can now see that there were the beginnings of problems before but Alan was always an independent man, and if he was aware of increasing difficulties he gave no sign of it. He was finally diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease and faced the inevitability of increasing infirmity bravely.

As he got less and less mobile he went to live in the Casa Misericordia in Machico. It is a big change to give up your independence. The staff were very kind and he received very good care but it not the same as being in your own bed with your own things around you, being able to make your own decisions. In the weeks before Christmas Alan slowly got worse and he was taken into hospital. He died on the 21st December, the day Bishop Geoffrey and Fr Neil were due to take him Communion. Their daughter Ann had come out from England to be with her Mother and was an enormous source of strength in those first couple of weeks.

At his Requiem in Holy Trinity, Alan was remembered as a loving husband, father and an immensely proud grandfather; as a faithful friend and confidante; as a principal code breaker at Bletchley Park during World War II, as a gifted teacher in Madagascar, training priests and in Weymouth, training teachers, as a gifted Parish Priest in East London and Saffron Waldon, and Wykhaven. Although he had only lived on Madeira for a relatively short time, he made many friends, both among our resident community and visitors to the island, with his cheerful voice, and listening ear. He will be sadly missed.

8 June - Memorial Service for Dick Denning.

Dick and Jennifer Denning came to Madeira in 2003 to enjoy their retirement and immediately joined the church community. Both were appointed to the church council and Dick took on the role of Secretary. Sadly, in September 2006 Dick was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and both he and Jennifer returned to the UK for treatment and to be closer to their family in Bath. They returned to Madeira for a brief visit in early 2007, but the cancer proved fatal. Dick's funeral was held in Bath and a memorial service was held at the same time at the church.