Playlist of Yvonne's chosen music, some of which was included in her funeral service: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4xwWGQPTvN7R5xgCYgT26o?si=C5I7imr_Sby5ta-dING_6Q

Tribute words from Yvonne's funeral I’d like to take a few minutes to pay tribute to Yvonne Meredith, a kind, courageous, determined and beloved mother, daughter, sister, aunt, colleague and friend. * * * Yvonne Gwendoline Meredith was born in 1942 in Dudley in the Black Country, to Harold and Gwendoline Meredith. Later the family moved to Birmingham, where Yvonne met her best-friend-to-be, Val. Here are some words from Val about Yvonne’s early years: * * * VAL’S WORDS * * * I first met Von when she joined our school; we were 7 years old. I have a great picture of our class: girls only, doing our knitting at the age of 9 (the boys went out for woodwork class!) At about 13, we went home one particular lunchtime. Von’s father used to take us home every day; he worked close to our school. It was icey and snowing one day. The car couldn't grip the road. We were told to get out and PUSH. We did - too well. The car moved forward and I was face down in the snow!! We giggled all the way home. After we had left school, off to work! But we still met up to go to the Saturday “rock and roll” nights at the college. When she was 18, she had an Austin Minivan. Once she had passed her test, we were off to Cornwall for a holiday. We didn’t realise Newquay was so far. No Motorways, just the A38 and the A30. But we met some Charming Young Men in the hotel. One seemed to take a liking to Von - as I thought - but Von had a boyfriend at home and it was me he was interested in. We had a lovely holiday… We both married soon after that, but our friendship has lasted these 70 years through all the good and not so good times. Goodbye my friend. * * * * * * Yvonne had the ambition to attain a university degree. She very much enjoyed a year of studying metallurgy at Aston University on day release from her job at ICI in her late teens. In later years, she relished telling the story of a sponsored fundraiser for charity, during the university “rag week,” which involved her being pushed around the Birmingham ring road in a hospital bed! 1963 was a momentous year and Yvonne’s bid for a degree was put on hold. Yvonne’s father, Harold, died that year and she was grief stricken! This was a very heavy blow at a time when she felt she was really starting to get to know her dad well. In the same year Yvonne married her boyfriend Robin. The following year Louise was born, and three years later Newton arrived. Yvonne already knew the kind of mom she wanted to be and the kind of home she wanted for her children: a home filled with love, companions to play games with, fun, laughter, conversation, music, great food, and a love of nature …freedom to go out and explore, as long as you’d done your chores first! She did not know that in 1969 she would find herself a single mom. Divorce was another heavy blow. Yet Yvonne was determined, as anyone who knew her would attest. Some might even say stubborn! She was more determined than ever to raise Louise and Newt with the home and upbringing she had envisioned. These words from Lou tell of Yvonne’s great success in doing this: * * * LOU’S WORDS * * * How do you sum up my Mom? Is it the care, thoughtfulness, concern, support, pride in our achievements, reassurance, encouragement but above all, love. I have so many memories, here are just a few special childhood ones. Our childhood was filled with so much fun! Walks on the Long Mynd, Clent hills and Kinver edge, often ending with an ice cream and always a picnic carried in a Tupperware box. Huge stacks of pancakes on Shrove Tuesday; we usually ate ten each with sugar and lemon of course. Mom let us attempt a toss as long as the pan was held over the sink, where one or two ended up! Saturday shopping trips, leaving Newt at home with kids TV, where I often came home with something new. Our first trip to Mcdonalds in Birmingham was memorable because we queued to get in. Mom wasn’t too impressed with burger and fries, but I remember feeling thrilled and told all my friends at school, who wanted to know every detail. They thought my Mom was cool! Mom shared many of her skills with me, particularly sewing, cooking and washing up! My first cooking responsibility was stirring the gravy, then peeling spuds and carrots. I was given careful instructions how to thread the Singer machine and wind the bobbin. At the time, I was trying to earn a craft badge at Girl Guides. Mom bought me a doll’s clothes pattern. I was shown how to use a paper pattern, how to use the instructions. I was fascinated and soon progressed to making clothes for myself as a teenager. Mom was supportive of this, buying me fabric and thread and sorting out my mistakes. Mom’s ‘cupboard-of-no-return’ was a family joke. It contained all the clothes that needed mending; quite often, by the time Mom had found the time to carry out the repair, we had outgrown the item! I continued this tradition with my own family which caused much laughter. Mom often asked about the state of my mending! Christmases, birthdays and holidays bring back more fond memories. Driving to Wales, erecting the frame tent together and camp beds and collecting water from the tap, which was always on the opposite side of the campsite! Exploring in good weather and playing board games when it rained. Playing for hours on Borth beach with a lilo, Mom helping us build a sandcastle and eating sandy sandwiches. The Christmas I had my blue Raleigh bike was so exciting, I was desperate to ride outside on my new bike with its stabilisers. Mom clapped as I rode away, shouting encouragement. When I had asked for a Sindy doll, I woke up so early and opened nearly all my presents until I found the doll. Mom heard me and came in, not telling me off but saying I would be upset later watching Newt opening his gifts. She was correct, I didn’t open them early the following year! So Mom, thank you for providing me with so many skills, love and support throughout my life. * * * * * * The mid 70s saw Yvonne raising her children, working at her job as a lab technician in a school, and studying for a degree through the Open University. At 35, she finally had the degree she’d planned for herself and became a science teacher. Soon afterwards, she moved the family from Quarry Bank to Lichfield. Yvonne was dedicated to her pupils and committed to helping them achieve their academic goals. Every Christmas she would receive so many Christmas cards, from staff and pupils, that it required some ingenuity to find enough wall and shelf space to display them all! In 1986, Lou had completed her degree and Newt was away studying for his. Yvonne, already reeling from the sudden empty nest and exhausted from working 2 jobs, was then confronted with the shocking and unexpected death of her beloved mother. The years after were a time of grief compounded by M.E. or chronic fatigue. Yvonne found that she started to feel drawn to prayer. Yvonne had never been a churchgoer and claimed no religious faith, but this began to change. Newt remembers their frequent long conversations starting to include much more discussion of religion and spirituality. Yvonne became a regular churchgoer and had what she described as a profound experience of God’s love. By 1989, Yvonne was a confirmed Christian, and the church was a central part of her life - volunteering in the Parish Council, reading books about Jesus’s life and message, attending Christian courses, and, of course, singing in the choir. Newt remembers awaking to Yvonne’s beautiful soprano voice exuberantly singing hymns on Sunday mornings when he stayed with her during those years and all subsequent visits. Yvonne became excited about the idea of writing her own essays about Christianity and Newt remembers her plan to write a book entitled “The Timelessness of God.” Another powerful change came about in 1989, with Louise giving birth to her twins Emma and Thomas. Yvonne was now “Nan.” Emma and Tom share many recollections about great times with their nan. Tom recalls watching his nan setting off in hot pursuit after her half-greyhound dog, Walnut - Yvonne trying to out-pace Walnut before Walnut caught the rabbit she was chasing. Tom also has fond memories of annual berry picking with his nan in her cottage garden. Emma shared these words to her nan: * * * EMMA’S WORDS * * * To Nan, You are a magnificent woman. I heard you say that hundreds of times, to me, my friends and anyone else you thought needed to hear it, and it feels very fitting today. I remember the summer holiday on Mull when you came along. We didn’t all fit in the car so you had to travel on the train, and it was decided that I would join you to keep you company. It might have seemed like I had drawn the short straw: a teenager being forced into a long train journey with their nan, but we had a great time. We drank tea, ate too many sweets and chatted about all sorts of things. As usual on our holidays I was re-reading Harry Potter, so we passed many happy hours working our way through the books. I was a huge bookworm growing up and we have always shared a love of words, from books to song lyrics. You always wanted to be a part of what Tom and I were interested in, and I’m sure you would have taken comfort from me being exposed to many of the themes from those books; the importance of love, friendship, adventure and equality are all there in force. I cannot imagine you ever dreamed that the wisdom of fictitious wizards would have any place at your funeral, "but know this; the ones that love us never really leave us". We have all been talking about you a lot over the past few weeks. The most common memory that has been shared with me is how much you advocated for other women. The strength of your constant support and encouragement was a gift. I grew up surrounded by strong women who taught me to expect equality for myself and everyone else I met, and to fight against it when I found this not to be the case. In my adult life I have sometimes been labelled a feminist, but I have never really thought of myself as one. Thanks largely to you, I grew up taking this mindset for granted. To me, expecting fairness and supporting others never had a label. It was how I saw you and the other women in our family existing in the world. All I had to do was emulate that. After all, we are magnificent women! Another series of books that have meant a lot to me since childhood are His Dark Materials. I’m not sure if I ever convinced you to read them, and I suspect you would have had some strong words for how the story deals with religion, but I know you would have loved Lyra, the main character. She is strong, loyal, deeply caring and independent to a fault. Remind you of anyone? There is a moment in the story when Lyra has travelled to the world of the dead to rescue her best friend, Roger. It’s a cold, dark place, devoid of joy, and she takes it upon herself to convince everyone trapped there to return to the world they left behind, despite their fears about what will happen to them if they do. “This is what’ll happen,” she says, “and it’s true, perfectly true. When you go out of here, all the particles that make you up will loosen and float apart. If you’ve seen people dying, you know what that looks like. All the atoms that were them, they’ve gone into the air and the wind and the trees and the earth and all the living things. They’ll never vanish. They’re just part of everything. And that’s exactly what’ll happen to you, I swear to you, I promise on my honour. You’ll drift apart, it’s true, but you’ll be out in the open, part of everything alive again”. I hope that wherever you are now, the teapots are huge and there is a never-ending supply of extra hot water. And remember, “to the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure”. Love your granddaughter, Emma * * * * * * Yvonne had a wonderfully well-organised mind and used it to direct her love and creativity towards practical and inspiring results: her novel and effective approaches to teaching; her beautifully furnished and decorated homes; her vibrant, colorful gardens; her fantastic meals, and her legendary trifle! Yvonne loved to share and to give, ever generous with her money, time and energy. Those who knew Yvonne will remember her attentive listening, her laughter, her song, her many old sayings, her love of a good game of Scrabble and a nice cup of tea, her fierce protectiveness of her loved ones...and for so much more.

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