Val will be cremated at 10:00am on Wednesday the 22nd of May, at Cambridge University Medical School. The following will be read by students during her Committal Service.

I met Val at about 8:00 pm on Friday 28th of September 1956 - and was mesmerised, I had never met anyone like her. She was gentle, unassuming, thoughtful, open, honest and straightforward. And beautiful. A truly beautiful person. She promised to meet me the next day, and I ran all the way home – full of joy, full of hope, full of optimism, full of feelings I had never experienced before. And I know she felt the same, in the letter she wrote to me as she was dying, she wrote, “My darling, in 1956 we were both so very young, our hearts were racing at what was to come.”

We married on the 2nd of July 1960, and as you will see from the photograph Val looked stunning – so happy - ecstatic. In her final letter she wrote, “Eventually we married, what a wonderful day. I was so excited. I rushed up the church steps with dad calling, ‘hey, wait for me, you are supposed to hold my arm’. I was so ecstatic, so happy, so proud.” And that enthusiasm, that excitement, that joy for life never deserted her.

Family was so important to her; she was a wonderful mother and grandmother. She had an almost childlike enthusiasm for Christmas, birthdays, holidays, gardening, country walks, nature. So many things. She was a joy to be with.

Val was intensely loyal. We grew up in Sussex, but she adopted Cambridge from the day we arrived in 2004. She loved the city, the history, the architecture, the boat race, Carols from King’s.

She lit up my life, she was the sun, the moon and the stars, but she had no idea how special she was. She gave her love completely and unconditionally and was quick to forgive.  She taught me how to love and to be loved, and how to be me. She was my guiding star.

Val died in my arms at 02:38 on Monday 26th September 2022, as I told her I love her.

She wrote about her favourite things - I found this in one of her notebooks.
Colours: Lemons, Lavender, Peach
Smells: Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Rain, Roast Beef, Roses, Freesias
Sounds: Thrush, Nightingale, Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Dunnock, Church Bells
Sights: Babies and Small Children, Beautiful Flowers and Gardens, Churches among Hills, Birds, Animals, an Attractive Face, a Lovely Smile, Snow, Cobwebs in Frost
Touch: The gentle soft touch of sliding my hand into John’s, John caressing my neck, his lips on mine, a soft breeze on my face, brushing my hand through tall soft grass heads, soft babies, walking on sand and feeling it between my toes
Animals: Dogs, Cats, Ducks, Rabbits, Polar Bears, Elephants
Tastes: Chocolate, Carrots, Curry, Prawns
Hobbies: Gardening, cake making and decorating, reading, knitting, walking, bird watching, crosswords, sudoku

Val and I were deeply in love from the day we met, and despite life’s challenges our love grew deeper and stronger. In her letter to me, Val wrote, “Our love has changed into a deeper love, a love taken for granted because we know our souls are one. We will always be as one. We will be strong for each other, encouraging, supportive.” 

I love Val, and I miss her more than words can say. She is so precious, so special, so wonderful. I am so lucky to have known her, and to have been in her life for 66 wonderful years. She will live forever in my heart, in my thoughts and in my dreams.