A
TRIBUTE TO ROSEMARY LEWIS
By Roy Eaton
Delivered at her Funeral
on 19 June 2014 at
St Peters Church Limpsfield
One of the last things I
heard Rosemary say in Tandridge Heights was she hoped her funeral would not be
too mournful, so I don’t intend to be gloomy and I am going to talk about Rosemary’s
love of gardening.
Rosemary and Philip
moved onto No: 1 Woodland Rise in 1964. The garden was interesting; it
surrounded the house on a good sized plot with a fairly steep slope from front
to back with a stream at the bottom. Not a lot of work had been done to the
garden so it was ripe for design and development, which suited Rosemary
completely.
They soon discovered
they were surrounded by friendly neighbours most of whom were fond of gardening
and were members of the Limpsfield, Oxted & District Horticultural Society.
Indeed just up the road lived the Chairman of the Society. Before too long they
joined the club and were soon members of the committee. Over the next 30 to 40
years they held many important posts and did much good work.
In those days one of the
big events of the year in Oxted was the Societies Summer Show. A marquee, twice
the length of St Peter’s nave, for the exhibits and a smaller version alongside
were both erected. The latter was for teas and refreshments and was Rosemary’s
special domain. She must have been responsible for teas, both summer and autumn
shows for the best part of 30 years.
Rosemary provided much
of the food, cakes and sponges, scones and delicacies – and quite often a batch
of eccles cakes and yummy doughnuts straight form the oven. These sold quickly
and those of us with duties to perform in the main marquee were often not in
time to catch one.
Now you could describe
gardening in three ways:
First, the keen
gardener. This is one who has a large garden at home full of trees and shrubs,
herbaceous borders, rockeries, climbing plants pots of lilies, and a greenhouse
full of tomatoes and cucumbers, seedlings and propagated plants. A lovely
garden like Rosemary’s – and then the keen gardener takes on an allotment.
Rosemary and Philip had
a large allotment at the old Plumbers Arms for many years. They would spend
hours in all weathers, digging and sowing, weeding and planting – lots of fruit
– harvesting, pruning and fighting the bugs. Rosemary was a keen gardener.
Then there is the knowledgeable
gardener who knows the answers to most of the questions in our many quizzes. I
always tried to get on Rosemary’s team with a fair chance of winning.
Thirdly there is the
good gardener. Someone who provides much of the food for the table for most of
the year, from the garden or the allotment – as Rosemary did. Delicious fruit pies and puddings throughout
the year – with the help of the freezer – as well as lovely salads and
vegetables.
Philip was married to
Rosemary for just short of fifty years, and Andrew their son, lived at home
until going to Bristol University. These were two lucky guys – not only all
this food from the garden – but Rosemary was we know, a Masterchef of the highest quality.
Frequently for breakfast, a freshly baked loaf would appear straight out of the
oven. You could say these fellows lived like Lords.
So Rosemary it is time
to say farewell. You will never be
forgotten by your family or friends – and, I hope up there is a heavenly garden
for you to enjoy and I hope that in the garden the birds are singing for I know
that was your particular delight.
Thank you for listening.
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| Rosemary and Philips' front garden |
