Obituaries

Please remember the following Hospitalite members and pilgrims in your prayers.

10 January 2010:

From Nimal Hemelge:

Paschal Hemelge RIP

It is my sad duty to inform you that my father passed away on Saturday morning. Lourdes was his life long passion, and travelled with the CA for many years during the 80's and 90's. He instilled in me a love for Lourdes. He had returned from Hospital the night before, and the nuns in the nursing home, where he has spent the last 7 years looked after him, and got him ready for bed. During the night, he woke up, prayed with the Sister Superior and passed away. Thankfully he wasn't in any pain, and was completely unaware he was leaving us.

Now he is reunited with Hazel and joins the chorus of saints in heaven. I would be grateful if you could remember him in your prayers, and pass this news onto those that knew him.

Funeral Details: If you intend to come to the funeral, I would be grateful if you could let me know, so we will have some idea of numbers.

The Requiem Mass will take place at the Roman Catholic Parish of Sacred Heart, London Road (A30), Hook, RG27 9LA at 11am on Thursday 21 January. See here.

The Burial will follow the Mass, but will be private, open to immediate family only.

Whilst we are at the cemetery (which is only a short walk from the church) my father requested that you stay for some "short eats" and of course some drink as well - and we will join you on our return from the cemetery.

Recently

• OWENS, Pat
• GARNER, Ann
• O'DONNELL, Arthur
• STONE, Barbara
• MULROY, Philomena
• BERNADETTE, Sister/Mother
• MULLAN, Ian
• BULLER, Robert
• MULROY, Philomena
• MATTHEWS, Hilda
• FAUVELLE, Michael and Caroline
• MAGEE, Ellen
• MURPHY, Dennis
• LESTER, Mary
• STEPAN, Olgierd
• COLL, Annie
• CORKRAN, Mary
• FORSTER, Val

Alphabetical

• BERNADETTE, Sister/Mother
• BULLER, Robert
• COLL, Annie
• CORKRAN, Mary
• FAUVELLE, Michael and Caroline
• FORSTER, Val
• GARNER, Ann
• LESTER, Mary
• MAGEE, Ellen
• MATTHEWS, Hilda
• MULLAN, Ian
• MULROY, Philomena
• MURPHY, Dennis
• O'DONNELL, Arthur
• OWENS, Pat
• STEPAN, Olgierd
• STONE, Barbara

Pat Owens

Although it is many years since Pat Owens came to Lourdes with the CA pilgrimage she will be remembered with great affection by the people who worked with her in the refectory at the old Accueil Sainte Bernadette. Her cheerful smile and willingness to serve exemplified the spirit of the Hospitalité.

She made friends with many of the pilgrims and kept up a correspondence with a number of them. At her funeral, her parish priest spoke of her love of Lourdes and Our Lady and he stressed the care with which she carried out her duties as sacristan which she saw as special service for her. He also spoke of her bubbling generosity, always wanting to give to others.

The presence of representatives from all the other churches testified to her active participation in the ecumenical Churches Together in Charlbury and they spoke warmly of her enthusiasm.

Sadly, in spite of her concern for the wellbeing of other people, she seemed unable to care for her own health. Her sudden death was a shock to her family and her partner, Mike Lynn. The packed church at her Requiem Mass demonstrated the affection she inspired.

May she Rest in Peace. (2008)

Ann Garner

by Chris Buller

It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that Ann Garner passed away on 1 May in Bedford South Wing hospital after developing oesophageal cancer having been in hospital for a few weeks. Ann was adopted as a young child and, when her adoptive parents passed away, was
left with no family. But through Lourdes she became a part of the Buller family and came to both my sister and my weddings.

I first met Ann on the train in Boulogne when I was on night duty and saw a frightened and nervous lady and quickly got the old regulars to talk to her and allay her fears about what lay ahead. As so often is the case for the first day or two in Lourdes she claimed to dislike the place and wanted to go home, out of fear of the unknown I suspect, but by the end of week she had been converted into Lourdes addict and was already planning her return for the next year. She came for many years until her numerous afflictions started to get the better of her, culminating in contracting MRSA and C-Diff on her regular visits to her hospital.

Ann lived on the 8th floor of a residential tower block in Bedford and whilst it may sound an unsuitable location it was next to the main bus station and so it was easy for her wide circle of friends to reach her. Ann was a regular on the Community Service Unit (otherwise affectionately known by the schoolchildren as ‘granny bashing’ for those children who did not join the CCF or do the Duke of Edinburgh awards). She made a great many friends through the local school initiative and was very influential with many of the children and I know she helped counsel a number of children away from a drugs problem, and made friends for life with those children, but also with their parents, a number of whom attended her funeral.

Those of you who remember Ann will recall that she was a very poor sleeper in Lourdes and that she, along with her fellow Bedford pilgrims Gina and Stephanie, would be found on the roof of the
Accueil smoking and chatting away, all night if they could get away with it! All three of them proved to be popular company for the night staff teams who enjoyed having a puff during the night.

In the last few years in Lourdes, Ann became a prayer member of the Hospitalité and I know she was overjoyed to be asked and always attended the Hospitalité service when in Lourdes. I will miss calling her ‘ratbag’ (a nickname only the male ward members were allowed to use), her generous and caring nature, her great sense of humour and her ability to cope with all the pranks and jokes that the ward team used to play on her.

May she Rest in Peace. (2008)

Arthur O'Donnell

I had known OF Arthur long before I really got to know him. We had both worked at Vauxhall motors for over 25 years but because of the vast size of the car manufacturing plants and the fact that our careers took us in different directions we saw very little of each other.

But Arthur’s reputation, as someone who cared and looked out for, particularly Irish families newly arrived in Luton, helping them to find work and accommodation was well known. It was not until after I retired and went to Lourdes that we worked together for the first time. I was feeling smug, doing a pilgrimage, when I met Arthur, in a bar, and he challenged me asking me if I thought staying in a 5 star hotel and popping out for the odd service was the best use of my time and talents. He made me think it through. The next day Arthur introduced me to the Chief Brancardier Chris Atkin, and as they say, the rest is history. We became good friends and when I had finished my training we worked together at the Grotto.

What Arthur had done to me he had done many times and in many ways to many others in Luton. He encouraged, cajoled and charmed us into action to join the CA and to enjoy and suffer the wonders of a stage. He also ran dances and raffles to raise money to help sick and needy pilgrims to go to Lourdes.

Arthur served in the RAF as a navigator. As in all he did, he did his duty and lead by example by always doing his best in the service of others. With his navigational skills he spent the rest of his life steering others to Mary the Mother of Christ who in turn steers us to her son Jesus and where better for all this to happen than Lourdes.

Arthur had a zest for life and lived it to the full. He was good fun to be with, generous to a fault, charming and witty. He liked nothing more than to sit at The Little Flower at the end of the day with a few friends and a FEW glasses of wine exchanging stories about some of the more hilarious situations some of us got ourselves into.

I am proud to have known and spent time with Arthur, a man of principle, a trustworthy and loyal friend who stood by you when things got tough and others doubted you. His advice was always sound and based on his love of Christ and His Holy Catholic Church.

We will miss you my friend.

May he Rest in Peace. (2007)

Dr Barbara Stone

Barbara and Bernard had 3 children; Michael, Susan and Peter. Sue is a nurse on our pilgrimage.

Barbara worked part-time as a GP and also as part of the Blood Transfusion Service. In 1974 Bernard and Barbara moved to Abington, Cambridgeshire.

Barbara continued to work part-time until Bernard died on 29th February 1976 and then worked full time until her retirement in 1994 at the age of 70.

In 1983 Barbara moved to her "Apple Cottage" in Balsham where she lived happily for 23 years until moving with her daughter, Susan, to "StoneyWood" in the same village for what was to be the last 5 months of her life.

Barbara enjoyed travelling abroad and especially enjoyed visiting Lourdes where she made many valuable friends. Barbara first visited Lourdes in 1968 with Bernard and her youngest son, Peter.

Barbara is greatly missed by her family and friends and by all who knew her.

May she Rest in Peace. (2007)

Sister Bernadette

I first knew her when I was a student nurse at St Gerard's Hospital, Coleshill. Sr Bernadette was in charge of St Joan's Home - a nursery from where many babies were adopted. It was also a training school for nursery nurses.

She was a colleague of the late Cannon Wilfrid Smith, who was Chaplain to the Sick for many years with our Pilgrimage.

Sister Bernadette was our matron on the wards of the Sept Doulours hospital. People who came into contact with her always experienced her tranquillity, charm and smiles in her care of the assisted pilgrims. We older members of the Hospitalité will remember her with great fondness and love.

Her last years in the Infirmary, with Alzheimer’s disease, were spent within her community. I was privileged to see her from time to time. The last time I saw her was before Christmas when she said, "I must pray for them all”. We were reminding her of people whom she had worked with; her special recognition was for Fr Tony Sketch and Sue Balfour. Mac and I were particularly happy to have been nurses on the children's ward at her request. I think she is praying for us now.

May she Rest in Peace. (2007)

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Ian Mullan

by Mgr Sean Healy, Parish Priest

As Ian's Parish priest I am pleased to write a few words in appreciation of Ian. He was a most remarkable man. Having been distant from the Church for many years, Ian re-found his faith and in a way never looked back. He had a great love of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament and even though in recent years he was not able to attend Mass quite so frequently, Ian enjoyed receiving Communion at home. When he attended Mass, he was something of a celebrity! Those who knew him were genuinely pleased to see him and he would spend time before, after and even during Mass catching up with old friends.

One of the great loves of his life was Lourdes and he was proud that he had been able to visit the shrine of Our Blessed Lady so often. I remember on one occasion seeing him in a new light when I visited him in the Accueil for the end of the Pilgrimage party. Ian was the "star turn" and enjoyed singing and entertaining the party goers! I never realised Ian's great love of music until then. No sooner had he returned to Daventry he would begin planning his return trip to Lourdes.

Ian was one of those rare souls who was truly grateful for all that others did for him. He was very proud of his family in Derry and kept in regular contact with them by phone and they have spoken of their fondness of him and what a great example he was to them. Even in his last few days in hospital, Ian was full of fun and constantly thanking others for their kindnesses to him. He will be truly missed by our parish community, but we know that he will be praying for us in heaven and that he will be with us in spirit when our parish group visits Lourdes with the CA in August.

May he Rest in Peace (2007)

Robert Buller

by Fr Tony Sketch

My memories of Robert reach back to my earliest pilgrimages to Lourdes.We all meet so many people in Lourdes but it would be impossible to remember them all; some however stick and Robert was such a one. Renewing my acquaintance with him each year was one of those encounters to which I always looked forward.

Robert had a very good and ready wit and was often very perceptive. On the surface he was most enjoyable company and, seemingly, easy going. It could take quite a while to discover the deeper Robert. Although he loved the good things in this life his greater love was his family and his Faith. As the years passed by both my affection for him and my admiration grew.

Robert was an ever-ready helper even when he himself was suffering more than he was prepared to show. He didn¹t wear his Faith on his sleeve but it showed itself discretely in his quieter moments and during his times of prayer, both the formal ones, especially the celebration of Mass, and his encounters with all and sundry. I knew there were times when he was irritated, and a few people who irritated him, but I don’t think he ever let it show.

Yes, Robert was a man of great love both for his Lord and his family. When I think about him and his attitude to the Faith I felt that it was something not dissimilar to a well-loved pair of bedroom slippers; he was ever at ease with his Faith even when certain aspects of it he found difficult to accept: he would pop them to one side and focus on Christ and his command to be persons of love if we were truly to be his disciples. Robert certainly was. I’m sure that he has now heard the Lord say: “Come, you blessed of my Father”.He would happily have replied AMEN!

Robert, who for many years held the position of trustee and treasurer, passed away peacefully at Leamington Spa Hospital on Sunday 19th March 2006.

May he Rest in Peace.

Annie Coll

Many regular pilgrims to Lourdes will be sorry to hear of the death of Annie Coll. Annie, who travelled from Glasgow on pilgrimage to Lourdes for more than 40 years was a dedicated handmaid of the Catholic Association, and stagiaire. In recent years she was prevented from joining us on pilgrimage due to illness, and she died of a heart attack on 13th February 2004. Our prayers are with her brother and friends.

May she Rest in Peace.

Mary Corkran 1917-2004

Some longer serving members of the CA Pilgrimage will remember Mary well, not only for her time as a handmaid, but also the devotion she showed in accompanying the late Margaret Moloney to Lourdes and elsewhere. Then she came asHotel Sick in the care of Mr and Mrs Long-Fox (Sadie's parents). In the last seven or eight years her declining health prevented her from travelling, but she still loved to reminisce about Lourdes.

I first met Mary when I was a newcomer to the CA Pilgrimage in1968. She took me under her wing and we remained friends. I last saw her on the occasion of her 80thbirthday party (a very happy day) but spoke with her every Sunday until the week before she returned to God. I am sure she is now enjoying her just reward. Please keep her in your prayers.

Mary was an only child of aristocratic non-Catholic parents and had a fairly happy childhood. Included in her work experience was as a volunteer in the Nursing service (VAD) during the 1939-45 War and teaching Drama at a Catholic approved school where her interest in Catholicism first began. She had a very special Mass to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of her reception in the early 1990s.

For most of her life she suffered from severe back and chest problems. Eventually she found it too difficult to continue living in her flat and moved into a small but superb Residential Home in the care of Mrs Sparrow, the owner. Sadly the home had to close a couple of years ago and after much searching, aided by her good friends, Clive and Nicola, she moved to a larger nursing home in Salisbury. This was a huge upheaval for Mary, but her friends and relatives again sustained her. Her health gradually began to deteriorate- her sight and hearing were very affected. However, her faith was a great source of consolation. It was a shock though, to hear she had died peacefully in her sleep on the night of Friday 23rd July 2004.

May she Rest in Peace.

Michael and Caroline Fauvelle

Michael and Caroline, were long standing and loyal pilgrims to Lourdes with the Stonyhurst/CA groups.

Michael was born in 1920 in London, and attended Stonyhurst College. He joined the South Lancashire regiment and fought with distinction in North Africa and Italy, notably at Anzio. He was almost killed at the very end of the Italian Campaign when a shell fell into the bunker he was sharing with a group of officers. He was the only survivor but took over two years to recover from his wounds. After the war, Michael was called to the bar and practised in London and Southampton. He retired in 1992.

Caroline was born 1936 in Angers, France. She and Michael were married in 1964 in Beauveau, in the Loire Valley, and they had two children, Marge in 1964 and Victor in 1967. They were also loving grandparents to Marge's daughter, Soizic.

The family first visited Lourdes together in 1982 and quickly developed a life-long love for the town and for the Pilgrimage, which they graced with enormous character and charm. They returned most years, despite failing health in recent visits. Their last pilgrimage was in 2003, as a couple, accompanied by Victor, when they were very popular guests in the Accueil and generally regarded as the most romantic couple on the wards!

Caroline died in September 2004 after a short illness; Michael died in October 2005 following a series of strokes. Both are buried in their village church in Wherwell, Hampshire, where they had lived all their married life.

May they Rest in Peace (2005)

Val Forster 1933-2004

Val died on 29th July 2004. She was a handmaid for about 19 years, though not in recent years. She was very enthusiastic about Lourdes and compiled, with some help, an impressive audio-visual programme, which she took every opportunity to show. She was instrumental in arranging the pilgrimage, with us in 1989, for Sandra, a vivacious young woman with severe osteoporosis and subsequently in the production of a video about it. She had clearly also been active in her parish, as evidenced by the attendance at her funeral, at which Margaret and I represented the Hospitalité, although her health had not been good for some years.

May she Rest in Peace.

Mary Lester 1916-2004

Mary Lester first came to Lourdes with the Catholic Association in 2003. Accompanied by her niece Maureen, she stayed in the Accueil Notre-Dame, and she took part in the activities of the Stonyhurst group.

Friends and family agreed that her first pilgrimage to Our Lady's Grotto in Lourdes was a time of grace and strengthening for her, since she came back to Lancashire with her leg ulcers - from which she had suffered for many years - greatly improved.

Her second pilgrimage to Lourdes with the C.A., last year, saw the beginning of her final illness, and it therefore seems appropriate that she should have died on 8th December 2004, the 150th anniversary of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. In the Accueil, and in the weeks she spent in various hospitals, she was greatly supported by members of the Catholic Association, the Stonyhurst pilgrimage, and her family, especially Maureen and Mary's son Fr. Tony, who had joined the pilgrimage for the first time last year.

Fr. Tony celebrated her funeral in St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church in Mawdesley, near Chorley, on Wednesday 15th December. Tony was joined by a large number of his fellow Carmelite friars, including the Prior General who had flown over from Rome to pay his respects. It was very good to see a large turnout from the Catholic Association Hospitalité, including the President (Michael Cleary), and clergy and pilgrims from Stonyhurst. During the placing of Christian symbols on the coffin, Angela Bergström-Allen laid out Mary's Carmelite scapular, and Clare Johnson - who had nursed Mary during both pilgrimages - laid out the photographs from Lourdes which Mary had enjoyed showing to her family and friends.

May she rest in peace.

Ellen Magee

Helen, my dear aunt, sadly died on 29 April 2005 after a couple of strokes and 2 distressing months in hospital in Ascot. By profession and vocation she was a nurse (district nurse, health visitor and ward sister). She first went to Lourdes I think in the 1950's, and must have returned 35 or 40 times, generally with the Portsmouth Diocesan contingent of the CA annual pilgrimage. She always worked hard caring for the sick pilgrims as one of the nursing volunteers. Her elder sister, Mary, was among the sick (stretcher) on several occasions in the 1970's. She was particularly friendly with the late Margaret Molony and Mary Corkran, and the Browning sisters. I was with her on the pilgrimage on many occasions, initially as a CA courier, then brancardier, then simply priest/pilgrim. Helen spent her whole life caring for others, including all her generation of her family. She survived them all, and it is now time for her to receive her reward and enter into peace. Our Lady of Lourdes & St.Bernadette pray for her.

Hilda Matthews

Sadly, last week, Hilda Matthews passed away peacefully. Hilda, who first visited Lourdes with the Catholic Association in 1996, will be remembered by many as a bright member of the Accueil.

I first came to Lourdes in 1997 and my first job as a brancardier was to be an Accueil roller. I was a very nervous branc when I arrived for duty, and I found myself looking for someone to push, as everyone seemed to have already left! Suddenly, from behind, a lady tapped me on the shoulder with her stick, and asked whether I was free to take her to mass. It was Hilda. Now I was petrified, because I was about to do my first rolling! However, all of this fear disappeared immediately, when Hilda simply said something along the lines of: don't worry everything will be fine. And, everything was - until the return!

Hilda needed to get a number of presents for her many grandchildren and asked me to take her shopping, which I did. Unfortunately, on our return from town, I inadvertently took the wrong turning (to this day I still don't know where!), and ended up on some road with a few cars coming past quite fast. In sudden panic to move Hilda away, I swiftly turned the voiture left into the pavement, and thus the drain!! A little crash, and Hilda was shaken about a bit, but safe! She insisted we went for a cuppa, so I could calm down and made me laugh the whole time!! For the rest of the week Hilda insisted on me taking her to every event, and over the next nine years we became firm friends. I have mentioned our first meeting, because it always reminds me of how wonderfully kind Hilda was to all who knew and visited her. I have also mentioned it, because she liked to tell the same story (with some expansion!), to all who visited her and claimed "it was only last year". She always made me smile. In particular, Hilda decided that only two careers befitted her young male helpers, that of priest or doctor. Thus, each year she would joke with me and others that she was waiting for us to make our choice and wanted to know why we hadn't done so yet?! Hilda was always full of good advice, and in 2005, advised me that I had put on too much weight and from now on should pull two voitures a day to get myself sorted! Thanks Hilda!

Hilda was an absolutely remarkable and wonderful person, who in her lifetime adopted 10s of children, and brought up 8 of her own. She "adopted" a few brancs and handmaids too! She was a very prayerful lady, and prayed every day to Padre Pio and Our Lady of Lourdes. She particularly prayed for those who had lost their faith and for their return to Jesus. In light of all of this, she became a Prayer Member of the Hospitalité in 2004.

Many of us will have our own story about Hilda, because she lit up any room she was in. Thank you Hilda for being my friend, and a friend to everyone who visited and cared for you in Lourdes - you will be sorely missed by all of us.

May she Rest in Peace.

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Philomena Mulroy

Philomena Mulroy died in the first week of December 2006. For the last few years of her life she had not enjoyed the best of health, but on the few occasions I saw her or spoke with her on the phone she was as cheerful as always. Philomena had a long association with the CA as a nurse; first with the CA’s National Schools Pilgrimage and then with our Annual Pilgrimage in August.

I first met Philomena on the Schools Pilgrimage in the early 60s; joining a team led by CA director, George Foley, Philomena as chief nurse (a position she held for 15 years), various chief medical officers (Otto Belham, Tom Tangney and John Dowling) and others who were part of the team such as Bill Kidd.

The CA (as a “tour operator” in those days) organised many pilgrimages and the National Schools Pilgrimage went out each year on Easter Monday and numbered over 750 school children, their teachers and organisers. As the senior nurse, Philomena’s task with her experience as a district nurse was invaluable and she had an adequate store of potions and anecdotes to deal with all occasions.

Philomena was assisted by one or two nurses and one of them, Leslie Dowling writes of Philomena; “Philomena was my mentor, my boss, my source of laughter, but above everything else she was my friend. We first met on the CA National Schools Pilgrimage to Lourdes in 1972, and we shared a room, the first of several, in a small hotel, up a mountain somewhere. We arrived by train that Easter to be met by Mike Carter summoning us to a hotel where Billy, a young lad with cystic fibrosis, was dying. This was my first experience of working as a nurse with Philomena and I learnt much from her that night, and I learnt so much more from her over the years while looking after our assisted pilgrims in the hotels.”

In her own way she was quiet and unassuming, but sharing a table in the old Solitude Hotel with Jim Browne, Philip Donnelly and Philomena was quite a riotous affair, reducing everyone in earshot to helpless laughter. In all the years I worked with her, I never heard her say a bad word about anyone and her professional approach to caring for the sick was an inspiration to me.

We will all miss her enormously. She was a lady whose faith and devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes came almost before anything else. We will miss her kindness and wonderful sense of humour and last but not least, we will miss the little black umbrella that went everywhere with her in Lourdes – come rain or shine.

May she Rest in Peace. (2007)

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Dennis Murphy

Mr Dennis Murphy (Southwark), who came to Lourdes with the CA for the first time in 2004 as a sick pilgrim, passed away at the end of June 2005. All those who cared for Dennis will remember him with great fondness, as a very cheery and friendly man. Many will also remember his excellent jokes in the Solitude bar during the evenings and his nickname, as one of the "likely lads". He will be sadly missed. May he Rest in Peace.

Olgierd Stepan 1924-2004

Olgierd died on 15th December 2004, a matter of days after his 80th birthday.

He had been taken ill in Poland some months previously while visiting family there. He had an operation that saved his life but he declined another, wishing to keep his faculties. His funeral was in Krakow, conducted by a Cardinal and with a message from the Holy Father, whom he had known for many years.

Olgierd was recorded as having applied to join the Hospitalité in 1964, the year before one of his sons, Casimir received a remarkable cure, beginning through the prayers of a Polish Pilgrimage and finishing on the Catholic Association. I came to know him well, since, during my spell as Chief Brancardier, he was to me scribe and muse, as he had been to my predecessor. He was both devout and devoted. As well as faithfully doing two constant tasks for me, he was skilled at getting to know young brancardiers and any difficulties they may have been experiencing and, of course, helping them. I knew him as hugely devoted to God and His Church, to Our Lady, especially of Lourdes and of Krakow and to his country. He was also about the most unassuming man I have known.

Like so many of his generation and background he had, to say the least, a very difficult early life. Deported by the Soviet Secret Police to a Siberian Labour Camp in 1940, he moved to Palestine in 1942 with some Polish troops, got to Lebanon where he met and married Aniela, who had followed a similar path.

They came to this country in 1950. As well as a career as an architect, for local and national government, he was deeply involved in Catholic and Polish Catholic life, holding high office in the British Council for Polish Welfare, National Council for the Lay Apostolate, Polish Institute of Catholic Action; he is listed as General Secretary of the last and I remember his being interviewed in that capacity by BBC Radio 4 on the night the Holy Father was elected.

He was on three other international Catholic bodies and was mandated by the Holy Father to chair the Polish contingent of them. These things, of course, with the support of Aniela. Many will remember them in Lourdes as Sick Pilgrims in 2002 and 2003 He was Knight Commander of the Order of St Gregory.

I mention all of this because you would never have guessed it from seeing him in Lourdes.

May he Rest in Peace.

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