The Octagon Parish

One People One Parish One Voice


    Obituaries and Funeral Announcements

    A funeral marks the close of a human life on earth. It is the opportunity for friends and family to express their grief, to give thanks for the life which has now completed its journey in this world.  As far back into history as we can penetrate, human beings seem to have felt the need for a ceremonial leave-taking of those who have died.

    An Obituary is a death notice which often includes an account of the life of someone who has recently died. It can, however, be simply a death notice (also known as a funeral notice).

    JOAN STONE

    Those who lived within the Octagon and in particular in Forestside when Geoffrey Stone was curate in charge will have been saddened by the death in January of his wife Joan.  The years of their tenure seem in retrospect particularly good ones for church and village life, when the vicarage was a welcoming and lively place at the heart of things.

    Joan's warm and outgoing personality and irresistible sense of fun endeared her to all.  She was a tremendous support to Geoffrey and to her large family  The family were frequent visitors who we got to know at the many enjoyable social gatherings Joan found time for at the vicarage.  She took a friendly interest in people’s lives and everyone felt at ease with her and found her very approachable.  She was down to earth and practical and always willing to participate in all aspects of parish life, from church flowers and coffee mornings and even, as all who saw will doubtless remember, to taking a leading role in Forestside's first, and to date only, drama production 20 years ago.  She was probably everyone's idea of the perfect vicar's wife and one felt her life was deeply influenced by her Christian faith.  She was also able to influence others in this respect as the following tribute from Roy Fulker illustrates.  It indirectly concerns the opera singer Elizabeth Bainbridge (alias Bessie) who lived in Forestside at that time and was a member of the congregation.

    “My overwhelming memory of Joan is an event that happened shortly after our arrival in the village in 1988.  A large group of Forestsiders went to Seaford College to hear Bessie sing at a concert.  Lin and I were sitting directly in front of Geoffrey and Joan and at the beginning of the interval I said that I'd like to hear her singing more often.  Joan replied immediately that I ought to come to church on Sundays and then I'd hear her every week.  And, you know what, I did. Indeed one of Geoffrey's last acts while he was still here as curate was to baptise me, so you could say that Joan's interjection was a rather important event in my life.”

    After their retirement the Stones eventually settled in Middleton where they still took their turn in hosting the village coffee morning.  It was a small house and it was practically standing room only when we all descended on them but it was always fun and good to see them.  Joan was particularly fond of gardening and must have missed her plants and flowers when they finally moved into a retirement home for clergy in Worthing.  For a time they were still able to visit us but have not been too well in the last few years.

    Joan's ashes will be buried in the Garden of Remembrance in Forestside churchyard at noon on the 7th May.  The family has mentioned that anyone who would like to attend will be most welcome.                                                  

    Topsy Kelly

    Lawrence Kenchington  1919 – 2011

    Lawrence Kenchington, who died on January 14th, lived in Lordington from 1983 to 1984.  As the son of an architect and brother of two more, he decided to take a different route and set up his practice in London as a Consulting Engineer in 1950; he married Bee in the same year.  War service in the RAF had taken him to India and Burma where he did valuable work as an Engineer Officer, salvaging crashed aircraft and using their parts to keep other damaged planes flying.

    In 1972 his firm was thriving with nine branch offices in the UK and abroad and he felt it time to move on to make room for some of his senior staff.  The family moved to Droxford where Bee and he soon became involved in the life of the local church as members of the PCC, lesson readers, bell ringers and sidesmen, and finally Lawrence became Churchwarden.  Always a church goer, much of his work as a Structural Engineer was devoted to church buildings, and he will be remembered in UpMarden as being of help following the rediscovery of wall paintings in the church there.  At Lordington he was again very much involved with Compton Church. 

    He died peacefully in his own home in Funtington at the age of 91.

    Michael Hutchins  1942 – 2010

    Michael Hutchins was a great lover of everything in the countryside, he was a very useful cricketer and competed for the county in athletics.

    He was born in Compton, where his father, whom he never knew, is commemorated on the village war memorial.  He married Lyn in 1972, and by the time their children were born, they had settled in Bedhampton, where they remained.  He led walks for the Ramblers.

    Michael worked as a talented builder for both Ian Mackellar, and later Couzens.   He was a great family man.

    His funeral took place in Compton church on 15 December