Order of Service Charity Collection: Diabetes UK Funeral Directors: William H Painter Civil Funeral Celebrant: Stephen Measures Albert Charles Wright 09/08/1929 – 11/03/2014 Robin Hood Crematorium Tuesday 25 March at 11.00 Entrance Music: Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller Opening Words Good morning and welcome. On behalf of Georgie, Kevin, David, Greg and the Family, thank you for being here today for this celebration of the life of Albert Charles Wright. I’m Stephen Measures a Civil Funeral Celebrant and would like to take a few moments to explain this ceremony to you. We are here to pay our respects to Albert and recount and celebrate the person that he was. This will be followed by the formal farewell and a brief close. We are conscious that many of you have come a considerable distance to be here today, and your presence does mean such a lot. Following the ceremony the family invite you to join them for light refreshments at the Fleur de Lys, and for those of you who wish to mark Albert’s passing in a positive way, you are invited to make donations to Diabetes UK. This can be done whilst at the chapel, or by internet directly with the Charity. This ceremony has been planned with much love by Albert’s family and everything said today comes from them. In whatever capacity you knew Albert, you have left your daily routines today to acknowledge some of the thoughts and feelings that well up in us when we are saddened by death. You all share in the sorrow of this occasion, each experiencing the emptiness, which comes from separation, each acknowledging the gap there will be in your lives. But sadness is not the only emotion. You have all been touched by the life of Albert. So remember him with kindness, with warmth, with fond memories, with love and affection, and above all with gratitude for what Albert has brought to your life. Please stand as we sing the Hymn: Abide with Me Abide with me: fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide: When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me. Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me Tribute We are now going to spend a little while remembering Albert, who was born on the 9th of August 1929, to his proud parents John and Ida, in Enfield London. Just after the outbreak of the Second World War, Albert was evacuated to the relative safety of Cornwall, were he stayed with a family near to the Lizard. When he moved back to London he continued his education at Enfield Junior Technical School, and completed an engineering apprenticeship with Swann Engineering. When he was called up to do his National Service, he joined the Royal Air Force and was based in Scotland, he met and married Topsey and they were blessed with a son Kevin. Unfortunately the marriage didn’t work out and Albert moved in with his Mum and Dad and helped them to run the Cambridge Pub, before they all moved to Tottenham where they took over the Railway Tavern. Albert was a longtime and enthusiastic supporter of Tottenham Hotspurs. He later met and married Georgina on the 26th of July 1966, and they were blessed with two Children David and Greg, who were brothers for Kevin and completed their family. They moved to Maldon in Essex, where they ran their own pub, The Chequers, before opening a guest house close by on Cromwell Hill, and where all of the family were able to help. In addition to this, Albert set up a separate business opening a Furniture Shop. By the Mid 80’s he built up a considerable Taxi and Freight Company, before eventually retiring at the age of 74. Albert was very proud of his Grandchildren Joe, Issac, Alfie and Rosie and with most of his family living in the Midlands, Albert and Georgina moved to Leamington Spa to enjoy their retirement together. Following a short illness, Albert passed peacefully away at Warwick Hospital with David by his side. Let us now take time to Pray Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us all with the gift of this earthly life And has given to our brother Albert His span of years and gifts of character. God our Father, we thank you now for all his life, For every memory of love and joy For every good deed done by him And every sorrow shared with us. We thank you for his life and for his death, We thank you for the rest in Christ he now enjoys, We thank you for giving him to us We thank you for the glory we shall share together. Hear our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen We will now hear from Greg It’s not easy to compress almost 50 years of shared experiences into a few minutes. So when I thought about what to say in my eulogy, I wanted to share the best things I remembered about Dad, and a few (hopefully) funny memories along the way. I remember Dad’s kindness. I didn’t dare ask him very often to drive me and Nicky the 700 miles to university in Scotland (and back) but when he did, he did it with good grace and not a word of complaint. Even if that meant dragging him north of Watford Gap! I remember Dad’s enthusiasm and impetuosity. Grace will remember us meeting her and Dave in Cornwall for a camping holiday in 1978, and then deciding that putting up and taking a tent down was far too much hard work and buying a caravan on the way home! On one of the last times we saw Dad, and were discussing some new apartments he might want to look at, how the spark came back to his eyes and he wanted to go and visit them there and then. I remember Dad’s patience. He rarely seemed to raise his voice or get angry with us. And as a child, I could never understand how he managed to make a Curly Wurly last all evening, poised on the arm of his chair, waiting to be eaten. And finally, I remember Dad’s generosity. When his furniture business stopped around 1981, I was desperate for a ZX81 computer. It was the high point of home computers at that time and times were hard. It was horrendously expensive but Dad got me one and I like to think the years spent learning on that machine always helped me in everything I have achieved ever since. The last few years were difficult for Dad in terms of his health but I like to think that the 10 years or so he and Mum spent in retirement in Leamington were good years for him. I’ll always regret not being able to be there at the end but I’m comforted by the fact that his last few days in hospital were short and painless. And I know that each time I see Spurs playing on a Sunday afternoon, I’ll have to resist the temptation to pick up the phone and discuss the match with him. Dad, we will all miss you. Please stand as we sing the Hymn: I Vow to Thee My Country I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above, Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love; The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test, That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best; The love that never falters, the love that pays the price, The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice. I heard my country calling, away across the sea, Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me. Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,[ And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead. I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns, I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons. And there's another country, I've heard of long ago, Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know; We may not count her armies, we may not see her King; Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering; And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase, And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace. Please be seated We will now hear from David Albert Charles Wright, my Dad. I was thinking what to say to you today about my Dad. I have so many memories, from my earliest recollections to my very last conversation with him, the day before he passed away. I want to share one of my earliest memories of Dad with you all today, and it was from when I was around 4 or 5 years old. He asked if I wanted to go to the car wash with him. It seemed something quite exciting so I jumped into the maroon Commer minibus (or as I thought of it, the Chequers Pub football managers team bus) and we tootled off to the car wash. Now this is something about Dad, despite it being a machine to wash cars, Dad decided that it also applicable to minibuses…obviously! So clearly, he drove it into the car wash bay. He put the money in, and quickly wound the window up! He looked over his shoulder to me with a big smile on his face as I excitedly saw the brushes starting to whirl into action and the water jet nozzles lower down into position. It was at this point the reason it was for just cars became apparent. Within milliseconds the high pressure water jets were impregnating the vehicle at an impressive rate of knots! Dads smile disappeared to be replaced with a few well-chosen expletives until he realised the game was up! To use a popular football cliche, we were both taking an ‘early bath’. I was looking on open-mouthed as Dad reached down for his cigarette case, pulling out one of his hand rolled cigarettes, tapping it on his case, and then put said ciggie to his lips… Believe me, when I tell you that car wash was a very long couple of minutes! Once the drenching had finished, he drove out of the car wash laughing and joking. Now what does this memory say about my Dad. On the face of it, it’s quite an insignificant event. But, when I was thinking back about it as I walked from the hospital the other day, I think it encapsulated some of Dads attitude to life. Rules are for guidance only, and just because it said it’s for cars, it didn’t say it shouldn’t be for minibuses. Sometimes you have to take a chance, or a calculated risk, or even on occasion, a ‘he who dares, wins’ Rodney! Things do go wrong, and whilst it’s annoying and frustrating in the immediate sense, if you stay calm, it will pass. Don’t take things too seriously. If you can laugh about things rather than get stressed, you will have a better time of it. Always have a cigarette close to hand! To be fair, in hindsight that probably wasn’t a good lesson to learn from Dad! However, I would do well to reflect on those first three points myself, more often. Maybe others here today might think that too? Farewell Dad, it was a pleasure to be your son; we’ll meet again….one day. Let us Pray Father, you know our hearts and share our sorrows. We are hurt by our parting from Albert whom we loved. When we are angry at the loss we have sustained, When we long for words of comfort, Yet find them hard to hear, Turn our grief to truer living, Our affliction to firmer hope in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen We will now hear from Kevin Kevin’s Eulogy Will you please stand for the Committal Committal Be thankful for the life of Albert. For the love he gave. For the friendships he sustained. For his contribution to your world. Nothing good about Albert’s life will be lost because it was of benefit to you. All that was important to him will be respected by those who follow, and all that was great about him will continue to mean so much to you May the life of Albert be an example for you to cherish, so that you in turn may live in such a way that you are not afraid when your time comes. That others may say of you, as you now say of Albert. Thank you. My life has been better for knowing you. With love we leave him in peace, with respect we bid him farewell. Committal music: The Last Farewell – Roger Whittaker Curtains to Close Please be seated Let us Pray Merciful Father, hear our prayers and comfort us, Renew our trust in your Son, whom you raised from the dead, Strengthen our faith that Albert all who have die in the love of Christ Will share in his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you, now and forever. Amen Words of Comfort Bertrand Russell wrote: An individual human existence should be like a river – small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and – in the end – without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man or woman, who, in old age, can see his or her life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things they care for will continue. Please stand as we sing the Hymn: Jerusalem And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark Satanic Mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land Please be seated Closing Words It is the uniqueness of each human life which is the basis of our grief in bereavement. Look through the whole world and there is no one like the one you have lost. But Albert still lives on in your memories and, though no longer a visible part of your lives, he will always remain a member in your family or of your circle, through the influence he has had on you and the special part he has played in your lives. Let us finish with a word about where you go next - next, that is, in spirit. Many of you will meet together after this ceremony. Beyond that, you will remember Albert with feelings ranging from grief and emptiness, to anger and even guilt. These feelings are entirely natural. But they will all, in time, transform into memories, where the life that you have come here to honour and celebrate will exercise a real and possibly lasting influence on your own lives. You were privileged to know Albert, for his rich personality, his depth of character, his love of life, his laughter and sense of humour. These simple facts are something to remember with true joy. They go along with hopes and dreams whose realisation now rests upon you, not as a burden but rather as a challenge or stimulus in your own lives. The search to fulfil those dreams will be Albert‘s best memorial. Exit Music: Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspurs - Chas and Dave