Elsie was born on the 23rd September
1924 in Southport, a seaside town near Liverpool. She was the elder of two
children for her parents Jim & Isabella Paddock. Elsie was an only child
for 14 years when she was blessed with a baby brother, Bryan, who came as a bit
of shock to the system but whom she loved dearly. Elsie grew up and went to
school in Liverpool. She was good at school and earned a scholarship for
further study. As a child she was also an accomplished ballerina and performed
on stage. Elsie went on to teacher training college in Cumbria where she met
her lifelong friend Enid. I was told that at college Elsie and her friends used
to pretend to be hairdressers when asked out by young men, after a situation
where they were labelled 'crusty old school marms' by prospective dates!

Elsie returned to Liverpool to work
in the school system there. Elsie met and married Geoff, a vicar 18 years her
senior, and they settled in Liverpool and started a family there with the
arrival of Peter and then Barbara. Later they moved to the south of England,
Nobury, Finmere, Fritwell then Ashbury where Elsie was involved in the WI and
the Mother's Union. They also added a third child Wendi to complete the family.
Elsie was asked to go back to teaching in Fritwell part time. Although she had
trained as a high school teacher there was a shortage of remedial teachers and
the local primary headmaster persuaded her to help. As a pre-school age child
Wendi remembers going along to work with her Mum.

Once the family moved to Ashbury
Elsie taught locally full time, when the family moved to Winchcombe, Elsie
taught in a private school for the children of local farmers. Last year one of
her former students bumped into a friend of Wendi's who was coming to Oz for a
visit and he asked to be remembered to Elsie, over 25 years later, she was
thrilled!

After Geoff died Elsie became
involved in a tech college programme for unemployed young people and was then
asked to work in the Phoenix book shop, a retail store that also supplied the
local schools. With her teaching background Elsie was able to recommend books
that supported the local curriculum. At this time Elsie also helped to care for
her Mum until she died at the age of 89.

Elsie returned to the North, which
she always considered to feel like home, to be nearer to family and volunteered
in a local charity shop. In her later years Elsie moved into Hadrian Lodge
where she enjoyed being part of the community. Over the years Elsie's interests
included a love of dancing, she ran a country dancing group in Winchcombe which
led to friendships with Pam, Vi and her daughter Jenny. Elsie enjoyed other
activities such as attending classes and she loved the readings from the
Dickens society. Elsie has quite a collection of Owls collected from her many
travels. Countries that Elsie has visited include Holland, Austria, Italy,
Croatia, Ireland, Canada as well as Germany to visit Peter & Hazel,
Australia to visit Wendi and New Zealand to visit Bryan & Mary.

Elsie was quite adventurous going up
in a hot air balloon and a glider, riding on the back of a Harley Davidson and
seeing the Berlin Wall after it had come down. She also enjoyed the more simple
things in life such as birds, flowers, being beside the sea and a nice cup of
tea in the Hilltop cafe in South Shields. Elsie was Nanna to Angie & Di and
more recently a great Nanna to Samuel & Joel. Elsie enjoyed two parties to
celebrate her 90th birthday in September last year and photos on the order of
service show these gatherings. Elsie struggled with Angina for many years. She
died on the 26th February.

As we mourn Elsie's passing we commit her into God’s care. As our reading from John reminds us Jesus said that he has gone to prepare a place for those who love him. And that in his Father’s house there are many dwelling places or rooms, there is plenty of space. Jesus speaks of life beyond death and reassures us that death is not the end of the story any more for us than it was for him. Jesus speaks of himself as the way, the truth and the life, that he will lead us to the Father, to God. God’s love for us is shown in Jesus Christ and it is in that sure faith, in the love of
God for us all, that we commit Elsie into the love and care of Father God.
Amen.