Ann Wilson - Eulogy
Thank you all for coming. Two years ago we were here celebrating John, and today we are all together again to celebrate Ann. While we are all here, remembering what a strong, resilient person grandma was, they are together again, sailing the seas of some far-off place, watching over us, and celebrating with us too.
Ann was born in Bournemouth, Dorset on the 19th of February, 1934, at her parents' hotel Innisfail. At Howell’s boarding school in Denbigh, North Wales from age 2 to 18, we can understand where she gained her independence. She loved her school days, particularly sports and music. She played on the school cricket team, learned piano, oboe, and violin, and was invited to play in the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She was also a skilled horsewoman, visiting her horses over the school holidays back at Innisfail where they were kept, and was District Commissioner of The Pony Club. She won many competitions in both cross country and show jumping.
Ann had many talents and was competitive, but also very humble. She never boasted about any of her achievements in her young life. She was tough and resilient from the get-go and never let anything get in her way. There was a time, in the early 50’s keep in mind, that she flew unaccompanied to Ireland to work at horse stables and perfect her riding. Hardly any communication, old planes, and the like, and she loved every minute of it. While these are some of the more notable accomplishments Ann made in her early years, there are countless more, and because of the woman she was and continued to grow up to be, when Ann and John met, he couldn’t pass her by!
They fell head over heels in love, moved to London, got married, and set off on their journey in life together. They were married for 67 years and their best friends, Janet and Sheldon, always say they were joined at the hip. John and Ann got married in HamPreston and moved to Newport just after Sally was born. Ian and Fiona were born at their home in Stowe Park Avenue. After 2 or 3 more moves the family ended up in Broughton where they had a house full of teenagers. Once the kids had all grown up, they chose to sell their business and travel around the world sailing, and after 30 years returned to their home in Casarabonela in the Andalucian mountains. It wasn’t quite the same as being on their boat, but overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and onto Africa ‘On a good day’ they’d always say, wasn’t too bad. Over the years they had a lot of visitors there, and it felt perfect for them to see out the penultimate period of their life, especially on their roof terrace. Besides, they needed somewhere to keep their tans topped up. They were always somewhere between deeply, deeply bronzed, and totally baked!
When the kids were young, Ann’s tolerance must have been through the roof for the things they used to do. She put up with Ian baking his motorcycle exhaust pipes in the oven of the Aga in the kitchen to clean them, watched them bash their bicycles and themselves up in the yard in demolition derbys they put on at the weekends. She allowed them to dance until all hours of the morning with parties in the cow shed, and ride motorbikes illegally down the M25 being built behind their house. She made the house a place where the kids could learn, make mistakes, and have the time of their lives. Most kids would do this behind their parent's backs, but Ann fostered a safe and loving home where the three could, in every sense, be kids. Now being a part of this family and having grown up in a similar household and raised in the same way, I have Ann to thank for being the mum she was, as I got the same from my mum.
Unlike my mum, however, Ann was a brilliant cook. She would cook the best meals in the tiniest spaces and loved to entertain. She would host dinners for friends and family around Europe and the Americas as she and John sailed. John would have to clean up as he couldn’t cook to save his life, making a great team as always. When driving around Europe and Morocco in their VW camper van, Ann would be cooking for 5, sometimes 6, always making sure her family was happy and fed.
A very important thing to remember about Ann was if she felt she was right about something, she was right! Always very confident in her own ideas, there was a time when John and Ann were building their bungalow in Mynyddbach, in Wales. John built the first side of the brick wall of the garage and Ann insisted it wasn’t straight. John disagreed. So when John went back to London for the week where he was building his business up, she knocked the whole wall down and rebuilt it whilst the kids were at school!
She made an impression wherever she went. Ann and John used to run a sailing and windsurf school on the beach in Corfu in the mid-1980s when they were both in their early 50s. When no other instructors were available she would occasionally give a windsurfing lesson to a novice in just her one-piece swimsuit. This would involve launching the craft into calf-deep water, stepping elegantly onto the board, and lifting the rig to catch the wind. After a short sail out about 20 metres from the shore she would turn, sail back, and step off the board casually as it grounded declaring “That's how you do it.”
Of course, you can’t forget about the sailing! John and Ann made voyages across the Atlantic and all over the world. It was a testament to who they were and to their relationship. A married couple living on a small yacht sailing across the Atlantic shows their true love for adventure and for each other. All the whilst Ann diligently kept a large thick log book to keep track of and share with the people they met on their journeys. She loved to meet new people and always found that 6 degrees of separation. She and John had friends scattered across the world, and memories of their times together will last forever.
Ann loved not only her family but so many others as well. She created what some would describe as a safe haven when they would visit for dinners in the kitchen in front of the Aga, parties and messing about in the garden. Even for Sally’s wedding reception, people felt at home and like part of the family. With motorbikes being repaired in the kitchen and injuries being handed out one by one, people loved being a part of the easy-going, inclusive, welcoming home John and Ann made. Ann taught people that life didn't need to follow a specific course; that there was no 'correct' way to live so long as love and laughter were top priorities; that money wasn't the goal because sharing, caring, and loving each other made us all far richer. She was an inspiration and a role model.
Her love has been passed through generations, from her children to her grandchildren. While her devotion and love for John were most consuming, and at times it felt like she found it hard to show her love to other people because she gave it all to him, Ann’s love for us didn’t need to be told or even shown, it was just there. You could feel it in her quiet ways that she loved you and that was enough. She did however always manage to show her love through gifts! Homemade, absurd, and exciting, they came like clockwork every Christmas. There were never long periods of time any of us grandchildren got to spend with John and Ann, but the times that we did were no doubt memorable. The movies, the music, the stories, the endless laughs and goofing around. It was always clear we fell from the same tree—the similarities greatly outweighed the differences. The energy gets passed down through generations and their inspiration for traveling and adventure has passed down through all of us and played a part in the rich experiences we’ve all had throughout our lives.
Ann could be described in many ways, and in the end, always took everything in her stride with a smile. Charming and positive, resilient and fearless, with a generous heart and kind spirit. Eventually moving back to the UK for health reasons, John and Ann in their last years were able to enjoy being closer to family. It is never easy watching your inspiration and role models grow old, but Ann was brave and strong to the last. She had a peaceful and happy ending to the most incredible life she lived and left this world to go find John. Speaking for all of us, I am so proud to be a part of this family and have the grandparents I did to show me what it means to live a fulfilling and exciting life. Our family, while far apart at times, is closer than most, and we all adored John and Ann. I know we will all continue to live our lives with the spirit that they did, and they have and will continue to be so proud of us. Ann may have shown her love in interesting ways, but her family meant the most to her. Salifi is and will continue to be the symbol that represents the family John and Ann built, and shows how even when we are not together, we are always in each other's hearts.