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25/06/2023
We have been notified of the death of John Parham who died on 11 June 2023, age 58, having been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months before.
Although John was not a pensioner many erstwhile Commissioners' staff will remember him.
He worked at the Commissioners in the late 80s / early 90s, in Clergy Pay, HR and Stipends and Allocations and he was a prominent member of the work football team. He left to pursue an academic career and became the Professor in Environmental Humanities at the University of Worcester. He was also the long-term partner of Elaine Jones, also an ex Commissioners' staff member.
The funeral details are as follows :
Friday 14 July at 2:45 p.m. Beckenham Crematorium, Elmers End Rd, Beckenham BR3 4TD (bicycle hearse reserved!)
Reception at 4pm at Dulwich Wood House, 39 Sydenham Hill, London SE26 6RS
Cycling / football gear; shorts; casual wear welcome
If anyone is intending to go to the Dulwich Wood House could they please let Elaine Jones know on 07866 743853, just so she has some idea of numbers
We send our condolences to Elaine.
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17/06/2023
We have been notified of the death of Margaret Rees who died on 30 May 2023, age 80.
She was secretary to Roger Williamson and Charles Reed when they were secretaries of the International & Development Affairs Committee (late 1990s to early 2000s) of the Board for Social Responsibility.
The funeral will take place at 3.00 pm on Friday, 7 July, at the Bluebell Crematorium, Old London Road, Halstead, Kent TN14 7AE. Donations, if wished, to Pancreatic Cancer UK, Westminster Tower, 3 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SP.
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17/06/2023
We have been notified of the death of Patricia Hallett who died on 10 June 2023, age 83.
She worked for the Church of England for 36 years, mostly as secretary to Overseas Settlement, in the Board for Social Responsibility. A funeral/memorial service may be held at a later date when it is known whether her body has been accepted for medical research.
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25/04/2023
We have been notified of the death of Monique Ricard
Monique, who worked in Broadcasting in Church House in the 1980s, sadly died about three weeks ago, aged 92.
Her funeral will take place at the crematorium in Chichester at 3.30pm on Wednesday 3rd May.
If you want to be in touch about this, please email Margaret Heald (formerly Jeffery)
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22/04/2023
We have been notified of the death of Dawn Claydon who worked in the Commissioners' Mapping department for many years.
A celebration of her life will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday the 17th May at Long Furlong Barn, Worthing, BN13 3XN, followed by refreshments. Please would anyone wishing to attend ring 0771 3626534 to confirm that they intend to be present
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03/04/2023
The committee has been shocked to hear of concerned and loyal committee member Stuart Froment's sudden death on Boxing Day. He was a member of staff at the Pensions Board. We do not yet know the funeral arrangements.
His brother Norman sent the following statement "I went back to see Stuart on the afternoon of Monday the 9th. I went in and called out, but no answer. He wasn't downstairs, so I went upstairs and found him lying fully-clothed on the bed. I shouted at him and prodded him quite hard, but got no response, so I rang 999. The police turned up very quickly, as did an ambulance crew, who pronounced him dead.
I had seen him the previous Thursday and last spoke to him at 4:30 on the Friday. We will have to wait for the coroner's report to find out the cause and time of death, but, for what it's worth, I think he probably went to lie down after he spoke to me on Friday afternoon, slipped into a diabetic coma and died.
I'm sorry to have to give you this sad news. I will let you know when we have made the funeral arrangements, but that won't be until we hear the results of the autopsy in February".
If you have memories or tributes for publication in the next edition of Contact, please send them to Ed Peacock, or to the Web Site.
May we convey our condolences to his family and friends.
Norman Froment has sent the following details for the funeral on Wednesday 15 March:
1:30: Service in St Mary's Church, The Avenue, West Wickham, Kent, BR4 0DX.
2:45: Committal at Beckenham Crematorium, Elmers End Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4TD. >
3:30: Reception at The Railway Hotel, Red Lodge Road, West Wickham, Kent, BR4 0EW.
If you would like to attend, please could you indicate:
Which parts of the funeral you will be attending
If anyone intending to attend would like to say a few words about memories of Stuart (or read a poem of their choice) at the church service
I would be grateful if you could pass on this invitation to anybody you feel may be interested in attending, asking them to reply to me should they wish to come.
Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to:
Diabetes UK
The Dog's Trust
Contact: Norman Froment: 07759 543973
Loraine Miller, Head of Housing writes
"Stuart worked for the Commissioners and the Board for just over 32 years. He enjoyed his work and was proud of working for the Church of England. Stuart's home was in West Wickham, he enjoyed travel and photography, and could often be seen with a camera taking snap shots at staff events. Stuart regularly attended the Dickens Festival in Rochester and also loved fireworks. He attended the International Fireworks Competition in Plymouth every year, and firework displays around the country. He was a good colleague and a very generous person. Even after he left work, he sent a cheque to the Board every year to buy hot cross buns at Easter for staff. Stuart was well liked amongst colleagues and all who knew him at Church House were saddened by the news of his death".
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19/01/2023
We have been notified of the death of Sue Ewen who worked at the Commissioners as secretary to the Houses and Bishoprics Secretary.
Jerry Elloy writes "Sue used to live in Islington and came to work daily on her bike. Extremely brave! She was a Catholic, and was obliged to live with the love of her life in sin, as he had been divorced. Clearly a problem for the family given that her sister was a nun! Anyway, Sue was an absolute delight; always sunny, understanding, and mischievously humorous. She was also a great secretary and made your life pretty easy. She was a good and staunch friend."
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02/01/2023
It is with great sadness that we have to announce the deaths of two long-serving and senior servants of the NCIs:
John Michael Davies, known as Michael, died on 26th December 2022. He worked for the Commissioners, and rose to being Redundant Churches Secretary. After retirement he was for a time Chairman of the Southwark Diocesan Advisory Committee.
There is to be a thanksgiving service for the life of Michael Davies on Wednesday, 8th February 2023 at Christ Church, Gypsy Hill, London SE19 at 2.30 pm. All are welcome.
Tim Robinson worked for the Commissioners and then moved to Church House to become Secretary to the Central Board of Finance.
The funeral will take place at 2pm Wednesday, January 18th in St Mary the Virgin Church Lynton. Following the service, the interment will be at the local cemetery; there will then be refreshments at 6 Castle Hill, Lynton, right next to the church. On logistics, while it is easy to drop people off by the church, there is no parking there; the easiest place to park is a parking lot about 300 yds down Castle Hill.
Those unable to attend may access a stream of the funeral, live details of that to be sent later. If you wish to receive these details, please contact djmrobinson@icloud.com.
If you have memories or tributes for publication in the next edition of Contact, please send them to Ed Peacock, or to the Web Site.
May we convey our condolences to families and friends.
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