Bye bye Pam

When my beloved Aunt Irene died last year I could not get to England for her funeral  (18th Dec 2018) so I lit a candle and sat quietly on my lanai as I thought about her, and the ways in which she had enriched my life.

I did the same on Tuesday last (29th Oct 2019)  as I remembered the very wonderful Pam Bradshaw whose funeral was taking place in Chicopee, MA that morning.

Pam  (I sometimes called her "Pammie", or "Bradders" was born in pre WWII London, and remembered the blitz and the deprivations of those war years.

She emigrated to the U.S.A.   She and her husband Charles had three children  (one daughter predeceased Pam and Charles.  dying of cancer at an all too young age).

Pam was a woman of  faithfulness to her family, to God and to her Church.  She had a "wicked" sense of humour and an innate joy.

She was a fine pianist, and a self taught organist - playing the organ and leading the choir at St. Christopher's Church, Chicopee  (now known as All Saints' Church) for at least forty years.

She, like Auntie Irene enriched my life.  (Pam and Irene met at one of the latter's visits to me in the U.S.).

Pam was a fierce Royalist, so much so that she never adopted American citizenship.

So, last Tuesday I lit the candle, prayed, and thanked God for my dear friend Pam.

The lovely candle cradle above was hand crafted in Vermont, and given to me for my 75th birthday by my friends Wes and Cindy Wasdyke.