Patrick Bailey
Sad news from Caroline Jarvis (Patrick Bailey's daughter):
"It is with sadness that I write to let you know my father died peacefully in hospital this Friday 19th February 2021 from a brief battle with Covid.
My father had an incredible team of medical staff caring for him and making sure he was in no pain till the end. He slipped away gently in his sleep.
Throughout my father’s time with the ramblers he enjoyed the company of many friends and looked forward to the organized walks and getting outside into the fresh air. He marveled at the beauty of the surrounding landscapes, and would often share this with us. I accompanied my father on one of these organized walks near Dorney, and was happy to see him among many friends and fellow outdoor enthusiasts enjoying the outdoors together.
My family and I will miss my father dearly, but we hold on to these happier memories of him setting off on his rambling adventures.
In memory of our dear father we would like donations made in his memory to go, in part, to the East Berkshire Ramblers."
We have written to Caroline to thank her for this generous gesture.
Pera Marrs writes: "How sad. Patrick was one of "the Maidenhead 4" who walked with the group for years. Their wives all worked in the Ministries in London. The men met thru them. After every walk they came to the pub, they had a kitty and drank one pint of beer each and a bowl of chips to share. They were not allowed chips at home!
I think Patrick was the last alive, tho Desmond may still be around. He was a lovely gentleman in every sense of the word."
Here are the details of the funeral which members can join online:
Service order for Patrick Bernard Howard Bailey
Service Date: 11-Mar-21 at 3:30
Service Chapel: Braccan - Easthampstead Park
Website: https://webcast.obitus.com
Username: ruhe8427
Password: 540036
Webcast: Live Webcast & Watch Again
Please send this username and password exactly as above to family and friends. You can login to our website at any time to view a test connection (and we strongly recommend you do this) but you'll only be able to view the Live Webcast approx. 5 mins before the service start time. Please be aware this is a public building and the timing of the Live webcast is semi-automated to allow for services running early or late – please use your discretion if you can see activities not applicable to the service you are here to watch. Once the service has finished, it will take us up to 3 working days to get the 28-day Watch Again onto the website.
The funeral directors are AB Walker of Maidenhead.
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Sven Fossgard
We are sorry to let you know that long-standing member Sven Fossgard died on October 21st. We send condolences to his wife Hazel.
Jean Todd writes: Last November he was given 3 weeks to live so he defied all the doctors and lived for another year ! He was having coffee at the garden centre a couple of days before so he wasn’t bed ridden for long.
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Mavis Bush
We are sorry to let you know that long-standing EBR member Mavis Bush died yesterday. Her husband Frank was a member of the committee for some time, representing the short walkers.
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John Vint - a personal tribute by Gerald Barnett
When I retired in 1993 I joined the Ramblers and was assigned to the Wycombe Group. After 6 months of walks with them I grew tired of their obsession with distance rather than admiring the scenery and stopping occasionally “to smell the flowers!”. On one walk soon after a group from East Berks Ramblers was present, including John Vint. John told me “you should switch to our Group, we like to take our time on walks”. Well, I did and have not looked back and been ever grateful to John for the suggestion.
I served for a number of years as Group Secretary on the East Berks Committee including the time when John was Chairman. John was effective and led by example when things needed to be done. This included reviving the application to reward with an MBE our Footpath Secretary, the late Margaret Bowdery, Group founder and, probably, the most respected Footpath Secretary in the Ramblers. John masterminded this successful application and was delighted with the outcome, even though they did not always see eye-to-eye over footpath priorities in Committee meetings!
In 1994 John, myself, Russell Spencer, Gordon Marrs and Jim Keehan (an American friend of John) decided to walk the Thames Path in occasional stages from the Thames Barrier to the Source. We completed this in 19 stages by summer 1996. John was a delightful companion and regaled us with innumerable stories. He told us that he had been a workaholic who dreaded the day that he would have to retire but on joining the Ramblers, and East Berks Group in particular, he changed completely and walking became a passionate obsession.
Soon afterwards, I took and passed the Guidelines Course to become a Walks Leader for HF Holidays. I can remember being on a Group walk that John led and him telling the walkers at the break with pride that I honoured the Group by becoming an HF Leader.
John led many walks for the Group but, inevitably, age began to tell and we began to see him less on Group walks. Then in a flash of inspiration (and perhaps his greatest legacy) John proposed the concept of the Strollerthon, a short walk from a place with a café to allow older Group members to continue to meet up and socialise. After a slowish start this has now become (prior to Covid 19!) a permanent fortnightly feature on the Group’s Walks Programme. John would often be found, leading initially and joining in latterly, with his all-terrain walking frame, until, in his late 90’s, this became too much for him.
John was an inspirational Group member, true friend and brilliant raconteur - he will be sorely missed by me and, I am sure, all who knew him.
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John Vint
We are sad to tell you that John Vint former Chairman of the East Berkshire Ramblers passed away peacefully on Monday 3 August. His funeral will take place at 11am Wednesday 26 August at Our Lady of Peace Burnham, SL2 2NL.
There are restricted numbers at the funeral but Father Joseph has said that people are welcome to pay their respects outside the church and along the road.
He has asked for no flowers but wanted to do some good in his passing for those less fortunate than us and supported WaterAid - so a Just Giving page has been set up if you would like to donate to this worthy cause in memory of John.
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-vint-98
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