If you would like to listen to the music used in yesterday’s service, please use the following links: How Lovely is thy Dwelling Place - Brahms https://youtu.be/OCN44NzEN5M The Lark Ascending - Vaughan Williams https://youtu.be/ZR2JlDnT2l8 Blackbird - The Beatles https://youtu.be/Man4Xw8Xypo

​​​Eunice Fletcher from her brothers, Don and Frank Born Eunice Rose Carruthers on the 18th April, 1938 at home in Anfield. She grew up during WWII with her mum and dad, followed by her brother, Don, born in 1942. In 1948, younger brother, Frank was born. Eunice was always there for the boys. She was overjoyed to have her first baby brother and after her visit to Walton Hospital to see the baby, Eunice was so excited that on her return bus trip with dad, she told everyone on the bus she had a baby brother, Donald. As a child, Eunice used to love to dance and play out in the street. She loved playing Two Balls and tossing her legs up against a wall. She had lots of friends and her mum relied on her to be the responsible one and push Don and Frank in the pram up Blessington Road to get the groceries at the Co-op. She indeed looked after her brothers. When her mum was upstairs in 1, Gurnall Street, ready to deliver baby Frank, Eunice and Don were looked after by a lady who came in each morning. It was Eunice, though, who made sure they had a few extra treats so brother Don didn’t get too fretful! Not that everything was a bed of roses. Far from it, times were tough, and Eunice caught diphtheria while still young. She was seriously ill. She was sent away to an isolation hospital and didn’t have any visitors for months. Even her mum and dad could only wave to her through the hospital railings. What a terrible lockdown that must have been for a young child. Growing up with a big sister was always fun for both boys. Don remembers many days spent sitting alongside Eunice’s favourite dolls around a small table for a ‘tea party’: pouring water from a tiny tea-pot into cups. Why does he remember this so well? Years later he would recall it while carefully pouring dilute solutions into testing cups for analysis in the chemistry lab. When time came to go to school, it was Eunice who took Donald off each morning, later including Ted McDonald, a family friend’s child, and made sure he too was safely delivered to school. Whenever there was an emergency at school, Eunice was called for from the Junior class to take Don home, with cuts, scrapes, bumps and bruises! Eunice was undeniably Frank’s second mum! She was coming up to ten years old when he was born and she was so proud of him she took him out in the pram everywhere, calling in on her friends to show him off. It’s also undeniable that he did nothing but cry and wail for the first three years. So coming in from school each day, Eunice would take charge and happily distract him from whining and sobbing while mum got on with making the tea. He’s sure he didn’t deserve it! When they were old enough, big sister Eunice was required to take the boys to Sunday School each Sunday, to the local St. Cuthbert’s Church of England, a dark, smelly, foreboding place, which Don hated. He was overjoyed when Eunice was allowed to go with her friend Lorna Fletcher to the much more child-friendly Methodist Church that Lorna attended each Sunday and take Don with her. Rescued again! Eunice spent her teenage years attending the Sunday School, becoming one of the teachers of a group of young children. And as we all know, the Fletcher family became more and more important to her, as time went on! Eunice passed the 11+ exam and attended a Commercial High School, Ellegreen, in Liverpool. She did very well and passed her school certificate….so well in fact that her teachers were keen she should stay on into the 6th form. However, in the mid-fifties, it was the done thing for girls to go out to work, help support the family and not go on into higher education. That was a great shame and she certainly missed out on a great opportunity. Instead, she became a shorthand typist and secretary for various firms on Merseyside including the British American Tobacco Company. Her wages she passed over to her mum and dad each week, barely keeping anything back for herself and even giving her two brothers pocket money. Both brothers always felt indebted to her for her love and support, which continued throughout her life. They have always been very close to her, always in touch and visiting regularly. They have shared many happy times with her and her family over the years. And they have spent many happy holidays together, in England, in Europe and in the USA. Big sister Eunice is gone from us. But the memories are still there and are still great.

Eulogy for Eunice Fletcher Our Mum from Andrew Fletcher, on behalf of David, Graham and Elaine. Mum first caught Stan’s eye by virtue of being the closest friend of Stan’s sister Lorna. Later, Stan told Eunice that he had thought she was a lovely girl on meeting her and had been waiting for her to grow up (which was just as well, as she was only 11 ½ at the time!) He might have felt he was overstepping the mark with that, as he immediately joined the Merchant Navy. However, on his return they were married in 1959 and Dave was born in September 1960. They obviously thought that things were going too well, so mum gave birth to me in March 1963. We lived in Arkles Lane, right next to Liverpool’s ground, which helped cover up my screams! Fearful of the noise pollution authorities, we moved to The Wirral in 1965. Food was a challenge rather than a pleasure in the 1970’s and the family subsisted on a diet of faggots and Angel Delight. How we yearned for the days of food rationing! Mum quickly gained a reputation as a ruthless cook and we were complicit in these crimes by setting the table, when really we should have been smashing all the plates and hiding the cutlery. The real villain, however, was Stan: a man of few words, who really should have mentioned that he had been a chef. Mum took her mind off the indigestion by creating some lovely paintings in oil and this became one of her main hobbies in the 1970s. Mum had worked as a Sunday School teacher in Liverpool and drew on her religious faith and powers of forgiveness to cope with the indignity of David declaring himself an Everton fan. Graham arrived in July 1968, followed by a long sought-after daughter, Elaine, in October 1970, offering mum the opportunity to break the long-held Whitby record of washing the most nappies! Stan, in a desperate attempt to avoid having any more children, did as many night shifts at Vauxhalls as he could. Alongside looking after the four of us and Dad, Mum even had the energy to work part-time mornings at a local toddler group. She was a fantastic mother, very self-sacrificing and I remember her saying in later years that by the time she could afford to buy herself decent clothes, her figure wasn’t as nice. Mum was also very forgiving of all our quirks and the kind of behaviour that would have made The Adams family blush! In the early 1980’s, mum started working as a Librarian at The Countess of Chester Hospital. She was a very diligent worker there for the next 20 years, enjoying every minute of it and making many friends, including her very close friend Barbara. A life-long, committed Royalist, Mum was also thrilled to meet Prince Charles and Lady Diana, through this role. With the additional income and free from the younger Munsters, Mum and Dad were able to enjoy some lovely holidays in Europe and further afield, visiting Don and Jan in The States. When Stan’s health started to fail, Eunice took the brave step of learning to drive. With a tremendous feat of determination (on the part of her Instructor), Mum successfully passed her test on the second attempt. Well into her 70’s Eunice drove up to visit us in The Midlands and once the ejector seat had been fitted and crash helmets had been purchased, we all felt completely safe alongside her in the passenger seat! Sadly, Dad passed away in 2006 from Parkinson’s disease and Mum struggled to cope, finding solace in her family and her cat, Tiddles. Like Dad, Tiddles was diabetic and before Dad died, Mum selflessly tended to their care needs, making sure she didn’t mix up their respective medications. Shortly after Dad died, Mum was fortunate to meet Bert Fletcher, Stan’s cousin (who had sent her a condolence letter) and her zest for life returned. They enjoyed attending art classes together and both painted some beautiful water colours. Mum even took up walking and this was some feat, considering that one of her favourite sayings was “You’re not going to walk there, are you?” After a walk with ourselves and Bert in the Cotswolds, she famously declared that she felt as if she’d joined the army. Unfortunately, Bert passed away in 2008, which was a total shock to us all. We all rallied round and Bert’s son David, who we had got to know well was a great help to Eunice, as he lived locally. Mum looked upon him as another son (without the nappies to wash!) and we now all fondly consider that he has official status as a member of the family, whether he likes it or not! Mum had a keen interest in music, particularly classical but she also enjoyed a broad range of popular music, ranging from The Beatles to Adele, George Ezra and Michael Kiwanuka. On the classical front, Mum was a great supporter of Dave and Gills’ singing in the Birmingham Symphony Chorus, attending many of their performances. She was even given special dispensation to watch rehearsals at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester and was thrilled to see how a concert was put together. Outside the home, mum also enjoyed theatre, cinema and eating out. Being extremely generous, she would get skinned to the bone when she came to visit. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Frank and Joans’ two daughters, Lucy and Jill, for all their hard work in putting together a fantastic surprise 80th birthday part in Liverpool for Eunice and Frank. Many thanks also, to Don and Jan, for including mum in a number of cruise holidays in Europe and last year’s trip to Rutland Water in Leicestershire. I prefer not to dwell too much upon Mum’s final years, which were difficult to witness but would like to thank Frank and Joan for their numerous visits; Graham and Elaine who came over to spend much appreciated quality time with Mum. Also thanks to my dear friend Liz, and to Ruth who both visited mum at home, in hospital and at Hinderton Mount residential care home in Neston. Like Bert’s David, they were vital local links. Finally, I would like to thank my brother and best friend Dave, for his unstinting support for Mum, and Gill, for helping with all the funeral arrangements. Dave would literally drop everything and drive up North to be by mum’s side. On their last night together, they listened to a BBC Radio performance of Belshazzar’s Feast by the Birmingham Symphony Chorus. Mum was smiling throughout. Mum was kind, caring and generous. She had a fantastic sense of humour and loved to laugh and be around close friends and her extended family. She leaves behind a fantastic legacy and a huge void in the lives of all who knew her. And so, Farewell mum, thank you for everything, forever in our hearts.