Memories of Pat
Members of Warsash Flower Club gathered on Tuesday to prepare for the funeral of long time member Pat Owens. They had been asked to do flowers for St Mary’s Church in Pat’s choice of green and white. The club also created beautiful corsages for all their members to wear to identify them.
The day dawned clear and sunny and a very large crowd gathered to celebrate Pat’s life. Area Chairman Pip Bensley attended. Warsash Chairman, Louise Bullivant, delivered the following on behalf of the club.
I am the Chair of the Warsash Flower Club which Pat was an important part of for over 30 years. We’re not sure exactly when Pat joined the Club, but the paperwork we have shows that she came as a visitor on 16th September 1976 and there is a Mrs Owen recorded as a member in 1980. Pat was Vice Chair from 1992 and then went on to become our Chair.
In 1991, Pat was asked to start our practice class, which she did with enthusiasm, and she went on to run it for the next 30 years. Each month at the class Pat gave a demonstration of a particular flower arranging technique or type of arrangement which we would then try to recreate… Speaking from personal experience, it was never quite as straightforward as she made it look! Pat would then critique our efforts – always in a positive way – and it was surprising how much difference she could make by moving the odd flower! The minutes show that when the class started, Pat said that she wouldn’t need a flower allowance as she could provide them from her garden. And as a visitor to her garden, I can say that it always looked a picture.
Pat’s contribution to the Club was recognised by her becoming our President in 1995 – a role which she retained for the rest of her life. This meant that she took a key role in the charity events and Club anniversaries as well as saying grace at our annual Christmas lunch. Pat was a talented flower arranger and was involved in many flower festivals in the local area celebrating Club and Church anniversaries – several here in St Mary’s Church, at Romsey Abbey, HMS Collingwood and many others.
We’re sad that Pat passed away just before our diamond anniversary celebrations which we know that she was looking forward to. We have put together a memory board showing some of Pat’s floral creations and pictures of her enjoying flower club events. This is in the hall for you to see after the service and it will also be displayed at our diamond tea party later this month.
Pat had many good friends – of all ages - in the Club. There has been great sadness among the members, however we have many happy memories of Pat, her joie de vivre, warmth and kindness. The vibrancy of our Club and the Practice Class are a testament to the effort and enthusiasm that Pat gave, and we are sad to have lost a friend and a valued member. We will not forget her always cheerful approach and her genuine, twinkly smile.
Rest in Peace Pat, we will miss you.
It was a lovely positive service and recognised Pat’s amazing positive view on life and her love of flowers. We also learnt that Pat was a fantastic cook and even won “Cook of the Year” in a competition in a local newspaper, winning herself a brand new fitted kitchen! Pat was also a member of Wessex Free Spirits for many years.