Mrs Brenda Iris Davies- Tuesday 19th March – Rainsbrook Crematorium. 11.30am.
Entrance to Chapel & Music - The Lark Ascending 
Welcome & Opening Words- Carol Brankin)
Good Morning, 
On behalf of all of Brenda’s family I would like to offer you all a very warm welcome.
My name is Carol Brankin and it really is my great honour to be here with you all today as we celebrate the life of our beloved Brenda.
 All of the elements for today’s service, including the music and the poems have been selected by the family with Brenda very much in mind. 
Today will be a beautiful Celebration of a wonderful life. Brenda had a fabulous 96 years surrounded by love. Imagine the changes that Brenda has seen over the years! Changes within The Monarchy and Politicians, Television, Computers, microwave ovens, mobile phones, the world wide web, digital cameras, The NHS, sliced bread and indoor toilets to name just a few! The Average wage for a Man was the equivalent of £204 and for a woman, £99.
Brenda really was a lovely lady, she was adored by her three children, Lynne, David and Elizabeth and had a very special bond with her treasured Granddaughter, Becky. 
I do have the pleasure of knowing Lynne & Andrew from years gone by, so to be here today to say Goodbye to Brenda really is very special.
Whenever a much-loved family member leaves this earth there will always be sadness that they are no longer here, however, I would encourage you all to remember the good times of which there were many, hold on tight to your memories.  
 Poem ‘She Is Gone’ by David Harkins- Read by Granddaughter, Becky 

Eulogy and Thanks – Andrew McCutcheon 
Firstly, its lovely to see so many of Brenda’s family, friends and
neighbours here today. She would have been thrilled.
Brenda had a good life, a long life which began three years after the end of the Great War in 1922. She was the older twin daughter of Fred and Elizabeth Bushill completing the family of 4 girls. Brenda and Olive went to school in Hillfields, Coventry and grew up in a tight knit community. She was a staunch Coventrian and would take no criticism of her city in which she took pride, mostly the few remaining parts of old Coventry, Spon End in particular. She was a fan of Coventry City (when they won) and when they lost she wouldn’t pay them in washers. She was a Coventrian through and through. In 1939, at the start of the second world war, Brenda and Olive went to work at Whitley and then Baginton Aerodrome doing special war work. Coventry suffered badly in the blitz and Bren used to tell stories of night after night of bombing raids, sheltering under stairs and in bomb shelters. She always loved clothes, fashion and style and even during the blitz there was a silver lining. She and her sisters were great dancers. She told stories of the soldiers, English, Canadian and American that she met at
dances and she retained a life-long love of anyone in a uniform. After weeks without rest she was eventually evacuated to a farming family in Somerset.
There had been many changes during the war years not least that Olive had married Roy in 1941. And in 1947 Bren married his older brother Glynne so the twins married brothers making the Davies’, then and now, a close family. Glynne and Bren lived with Glynnes parents for the first few years of their marriage and Lynne, David and Elizabeth were all born before they moved to their own home in Wyken Croft, within walking distance of Olive and Roy and their family. Visits between families were regular and many an entertaining evening was spent with Uncle Roy playing the piano and everyone singing wartime songs. Bren loved the big
garden at Wyken Croft and the front garden in particular was always stunning, full of flowers that changed with the seasons.
Whilst the children were still young Glynne’s parents moved in to live with the family at Wyken Croft and Bren cared for and nursed them both as well as bringing up three young children. It was a difficult time in her life but one that she bore with fortitude and resilience. When both grandparents were gone she found freedom in working as a part time home help caring in particular, for over 20 years, for Reta, a disabled woman for whom, needless to say, she went that extra mile. She could also devote herself again to her passion for gardening and home decorating. Lynne married Andrew and Dave married Lynda during those years. When Bren was 59 Glynne died suddenly leaving her living in Wyken Croft with Liz until Liz married Charlie a couple of years later. And now starts the 3 rd part of Bren’s life when she blossomed. Brenda’s beloved granddaughter Becky was born to Liz and Charlie in 1988 and
shortly afterwards she moved to Woodlands Court. She was in heaven, a lovely flat in a woodland setting and her precious granddaughter to help care for. She was re-born. She adopted a gentle dog called Jemma and walked miles every day with Becky and Jemma talking to everyone she met and admiring their gardens. Becky went to the local school where she
became a volunteer who helped with the children and their reading. She made many good friends in Binley Woods, in particular Vera Lindsay and Peter Williams. They formed part of the effective management team that ran the flats until very recently. These three and other residents of the flats spent every New Years Eve together sampling wine and talking and laughing until the early hours. 20 years ago, the icing was put on her cake when she moved to her ground floor flat, No 1. She loved it passionately and said she woke every morning thinking she was on holiday. She had a front seat to view all the comings and goings, she created flower beds and she and Peter did all the gardening, changing the planting at least twice a year. The residents were pleased too because it added value to their lives and their property as well. Thursdays were special days for Bren for well over a decade. She would have her
hair done, get dressed up and she and Peter would go on an outing to a garden centre or a National Trust property. She also started to travel every year to France to live with Lynne and I. She spoke only one word of French “Bonjour” but she completely charmed the village who took her to their hearts. She would sit outside the house in the sun radiating welcome and kindness and everyone would stop and talk to her which created a few misunderstandings at times. Her happy life continued in No 1 until almost the end when she moved into the caring hands of Myton Hospice. She felt safe in the knowledge that Liz and Charlie were just down the road, Dave and Lynda were just the other side of town and Lynne and
Andrew at the end of the phone. She was a lucky lady, she knew it and told us so - frequently. She became a character, a part of the village community that is Binley Woods and she had many famous sayings, in particular if she wasn’t feeling too good she would say “there’s always someone worst off than me, could be worse”.
Brenda loved family, friends, babies, children, dogs, cats, flowers. She loved LIFE in capital letters. She never complained and never ever stayed in bed preferring to greet every new day as a new opportunity. She believed in goodness, duty and the future. She was an inspiration to us all.
We would like to say a special thank you to Carol Brankin for making this service very special, to Henry Isons for their excellent professional attention, to the nurses and carers who helped look after Mum in her last two weeks. In particular heartfelt thanks to the wonderful Myton Hospice who made Brenda so comfortable and relaxed at the end, also to those special friends who helped make her life so enjoyable in the last few years, particularly in relation to her weekly hairdressing trips, the importance of which can’t be overstated. 

A Time For Personal Reflection As We Listen To ‘Dawn Chorus’ A Portrait of a British Woodland at Sunrise
As we listen to this next piece, a ‘Dawn Chorus’ A portrait of a British Woodland at Sunrise, please take some time to reflect on the memories that have been shared during today’s tribute but also to remember everything that Brenda meant to each one of you personally and how she touched your lives. Hold on to memories that have been left behind for you all as precious gifts. 
Words Of Comfort 
Saying Goodbye to someone we have loved so dearly is never easy. We can however take great comfort that Brenda lived a good life, which she loved. She lived a long and a happy life, she loved and was loved. She married, had three children who thought the world of her and a beautiful granddaughter who enriched her life beyond words.
(Charlie)……..
I would like to invite Charlie to share a beautiful poem with you, entitled ‘A Silent Tear’ 
 
Prayer – Psalm 23 (Carol to read, everyone to stand)
Please stand….
 

Words of Farewell & Committal (Remain standing)
(To the congregation)
We have gathered here today, united in our love and gratitude for Brenda’s life.
During her 96 years on this earth Brenda became an inspiration to us all, she will be sadly missed.
As we prepare to bid a gentle farewell to our Dear Brenda, let us remember that every journey has a beginning and an end, a time to meet and a time to say goodbye. May the loving memories that you hold bring you all peace, comfort and strength at this time, and may the love that you shared be what you remember most.  
(To Brenda)
Beloved Brenda, what a beautiful Lady you were. You had such a loving, caring and resilient nature. You filled this world with joy with your love of life. You were uncomplaining and optimistic.
You were a good person Brenda and our lives are richer because you were part of them.
Today we have given thanks for, paid tribute to, and celebrated your life.
Thank you for leaving such beautiful memories.
And so, Brenda, we let you go on your final journey……   
Dear Lord, 
May Brenda live on in her children and in her Grandchildren.
Please keep her safe and in everlasting Peace.
Rest peacefully Brenda, you will never be forgotten.
To live in the hearts of others is not to die. Amen

Just before we prepare to exit the Chapel, I would like to share this poem with you, I feel that this is what Brenda would say to you all…….. 
 




Closing Words- Carol Brankin
Brenda’s Family would like to thank you all for being here today and warmly invite you to join them at ‘The Roseycombe Pub’, Rugby Road, Binley Woods following the service.
Donations if desired, in memory of Brenda, will be for Myton Hospice, Coventry. There will be a collection box as we exit, or if you would prefer you can donate online on Brenda’s ‘MUCH LOVED’ page. Becky shared these words, ‘It was Myton Hospice that stepped in and made my Grandma’s last moments comfortable and calm. They surrounded her with kind, Compassionate, safe hands in a beautiful, relaxing setting.  
Exit Chapel to ‘Too Marvellous for Words’ Doris Day  
As we exit, we will be listening to another very fitting and beautiful song by the wonderful Doris Day…. Please feel that you can come and say goodbye as you leave.
This song needs no explanation as Brenda really was…… ‘Too Marvellous for Words’.
Thank you.