Entrance Music –White Cliffs of Dover – Vera Lynn
Screen: Hold 1
 
 
Please be seated
 
 
Welcome and Opening Words
 
Good afternoon. My name is Janice and I would like to offer you all a very warm welcome, as we unite now in love and friendship, not only to say goodbye but more importantly to pay tribute and give thanks for the life of Pauline Margaret Hall.
 
 
Our being here together today is to celebrate the joy of life that Pauline knew. Whilst we think of Pauline’s passing with sadness, we also recall her life with respect and happiness, which will enable us to find closure and move on in our relationship with Pauline from one of a physical presence to one of memory.
A memory which will always be cherished.
 
 
Those we love don’t go away
They walk beside us every day
Unseen, unheard and always near
Still loved, still missed and very dear
 
 
Tribute to Pauline
 
On behalf of Pauline’s family, it will be my privilege to say a few words which reflect and celebrate her life.  Each of you will remember Pauline in your own special way, so, these are just a few snapshots of memories of a life that cannot be summarised in simply a few words.
 
You will all have personal and individual memories, including those of a lady who was young and vibrant and led a full and active life. Pauline was always busy, full of joy and always eager to help out, no matter what the problem was.
 
Being a mother of four boys kept her occupied, but she still found time to do jobs around the home so that Ron would not have so much to do when he came in from work, she would rather spend the weekends in the countryside and taking the boys for long walks with Sheba the dog. She had to put up with a son who managed to visit almost every hospital in three counties even before the boys’ love affair with motorbikes took hold. Pauline thrived, making lifelong friends in Leeds and Horndean, whilst always keeping busy. She was a great homemaker who excelled in baking exceptional sponge cakes and making trifles, even when she was no longer able to see. On her sewing machine she would make her own clothes and her DIY exploits were legendary. No ladder was too tall as she set about painting both inside and outside her homes even when she was in her 70’s. 
 
Pauline’s story began on 14th December, 1934 when she was born in Queen Street, Portsea in the reign of George V. She was 1 of 5 children born to parents Henry and Grace and a sister to Lily, Grace, Henry and is survived by her sister Dolly. I know with Dolly living in Australia she is unable to be here today to celebrate in Pauline’s life, but I’m sure her thoughts are with you all as yours are with her.
 
Obviously, the war years played a significant period in Pauline’s early years and she could retell many stories from that time with great clarity.  She recalled how the family home in Lombard Street and her first school in St. George’s square were bombed out in 1941 and they saw 4 inch sparks flying down the road from the power station that had also been hit. They had to move to the underground shelter in the Camber and store their remaining furniture in the Cathedral, where her sister Grace had to throw buckets of water over the incendiaries from the bell tower, before rowing across to Gosport and catching the train to Bishopstoke to stay with her gran. When the family including her gran moved back to Southsea, and then to Wilton Terrace, Pauline became a pupil at St. Jude’s school, classes took place only in the afternoons and the children were allowed to take an afternoon nap to make up for being kept awake at night due to the air raids.
When the sirens went off at night Pauline would ask her mum, is that the ‘warning signal’ and her mum would say no that’s the ‘all clear’, but when the Pom Pom guns on the common started Pauline would run the short distance across the road to the school, where the ground floor had been reinforced with props to act as a shelter, and spend many hours waiting for the real ‘all clear’.
 
One story that Pauline remembered clearly was being chased by a Doodle Bug after leaving the Gaiety cinema in Albert Road, the sirens went off and they could hear the V1 overhead as she and a friend ran home to check on their parents, dodging the air raid wardens who wanted to put them in the shelters.
 
For Pauline the war years were exciting times and the experiences it brought were not only memorable, but also fun. She and her friends would play on the bomb sites and often find merchandise where Woolworth had once stood. One of the highlights of the war years was when Pauline aged 8 was a flower girl at her sister Dolly’s wedding. However for Pauline and her family it was also a time of heartache as her brother who was in the Merchant Navy sadly lost his life at the age of 20 when his tug the Irishman was blown up by a magnetic mine whilst helping to build the Mulberry harbours for the D-Day landings. The wreck now rests partially submerged at low tide in Langstone Harbour.
 
At 16, Pauline left school and worked as a sales assistant at Blundell’s the clothier, before moving to Albert Road.
                           
It was at a dance, that Pauline met her future husband Ron, which had been organised by his father. Ron taught Pauline to ride a motorcycle along the Eastern Road in the years when it was a little quieter. Married in 1959 began a wonderful togetherness that was to take them through 47 years of married life. As newly-weds they lived in Nightingale Road where Stephen was born, followed by the arrival of Robert a year later. A relocation of Ron’s work saw the family move to Yorkshire for the next 10 years; with the addition of two more boys, Kevin and David, the family was complete. Stephen, Robert and Kevin have fond memories of the trips to the famous Sherwood Forest, Yorkshire Moors and canal trips with all the family, sometimes under the Yorkshire Moors, in a rubber boat.
 
A move back south saw them settle in their forever home in Horndean with the addition of more Alsatian dogs, who Pauline loved to walk in the nearby woods that stretched unbroken to Rowlands Castle.
 
When the children married, Pauline welcomed Sian, Montse, Anne, and Samantha warmly into the family and they cherished her thoughtfulness, consideration and tact. As the family grew, Pauline remained the nucleus of it and radiated both love and affection to her 8 grandchildren, Ana Benjamin, Sam, Oliver, Daniel, Emily, Heidi and Sophie who were her pride and joy and a great source of happiness to her.
 
Her creative talents were also evident in the way she put pen to paper in her portrait drawing and how she taught herself to play the piano and would then sing along.
 
To relax, for 14 years Pauline and Ron were members of the caravan club and family holidays were spent on various sites in Clumber Park, the New Forest, Wareham and even Scotland. When the children had left home, a motorhome saw them venture further afield to France and eventually Spain to visit Montse’s family. Back on home soil, there was always a trip to B&Q and the dump to look forward to, or spend time sitting on a bench along Southsea seafront eating fish and chips which Pauline so loved to do.
 
When Ron passed away in 2006, Pauline remained living in the family home of 32 years with the help and support of her family and friends, until last year when she became a resident at Wisteria Lodge. For Pauline it was difficult to give up her independence but she couldn’t have been more fortunate with the choice of care home. She loved all the staff as they did her and received visitors every day. On behalf of Pauline’s family, I would like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all the staff for the kindness and care they not only showed towards Pauline, but to them as a family.
 
Pauline was a lady who added value and breathed life, love and example into everything she did.  Forever optimistic, she never dwelt on what could have been, but appreciated all she had. A lady of integrity never had a bad word to say about anyone and let her children live their own lives, but was always there if you needed her.
 
It is quite impossible to sum up anyone in a few sentences and Pauline deserves a library of words. What we can all agree on is that she was a kind, resourceful, caring lady and leaves you all with a rich fund of happy memories to cherish forever, and I’d like now to invite Pauline’s grandchildren to come and share some of their memories of their gran.
 
 
Personal Memories of Pauline read by grandchildren
 
 
Reflection
 
As we take a few moments to reflect on Pauline’s life you may like to turn the pages of your memory like a book and remember the special times you spent with her or use this time for your own private prayer as we listen to Judy Garland singing Over the Rainbow and appreciate the visual life tribute that has been put together by her family.
 
Music – Over the Rainbow – Judy Garland
Screen: VT 001 – VT032
 
 
Committal and Farewell
 
And so now we come to the time in the service when we prepare to say our final goodbyes to Pauline. Please remember that this is only Pauline’s body that we are saying goodbye to here today, not her personality, her soul or her spirit which will remain alive forever in your minds and in your hearts. To live in the heart of another person is not to die, love never dies...
 
 
Would you please stand
 
Pauline, may the light of love shine upon you
On those for whom you loved
And those who love you.
 
We grieve at your passing but are grateful for your life and for the privilege of sharing it with you.
 
We honour the way you lived your life. We honour your character and your humour, but most of all we honour the love you gave to your family and friends.
 
As we say goodbye to you now remember that you will be loved and cherished forever, and may you rest in peace.
 
 
For those of you who wish to do so please join me in saying The Lord's Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done, on Earth
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom,
The power and the glory
Forever and Ever
Amen.
 
 
Please be seated
 
 
Closing Words
 
As our service comes to its close, and we go back to our everyday lives, we take comfort from knowing that Pauline now has eternal rest as she is once again reunited with Ron – as it should be.
 
 
We give thanks for Pauline
For everything that was good in her life
For all the memories that we hold that are so precious and dear
For every day we shared with her, the good we saw in her, and the love we received from her
And now we ask for the strength and courage to leave her safe in the knowledge that she is at peace forever
 
 
We end this celebration of Pauline’s life with a fitting tribute by Vera Lynn, who Pauline loved to listen to and for the era of the war years that she herself grew up in, and I hope as you leave to the poignant lyrics of ‘We'll Meet Again’, you will do so with a real sense of having shared in something special this afternoon for a very special lady, who made all your lives, warmer, funnier, and happier.
 
 
Closing Music – We’ll Meet Again – Vera Lynn