Eulogy to 
Dorothy Barrington 
at Barrington Place

Mum died peacefully at about 2.00 pm while resting on her bed on Sunday afternoon on the 6th December 2015.

She was 97 years old and is survived by Myself (Stephen), Pauline and Dorothea, by many of her personal family and friends in many countries of the world, and of course by numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She will be sorely missed by us all, we love you Mum, Rest in Peace with God and his angels.

May your journey now, be in accord with your wishes and your faith.

The Church and the choir
The choir was magnificent. We had hardly taken our places in church when we were greeted by the glorious and beautiful sound of the choir.

The mass was attended by many friends and family, and even by a visiting Parish Priest, Father Peter, who told me that he owed a debt to Mum as it was she who inspired him to take Holy Orders.

I am truly humbled when I consider how much greater the church is than it's individual members, when I saw the love and respect Mum's friends and family had for her and the trouble they went to to send her with a trumpet blast onto her last journey.

More on these matters in the acknowledgements below.

Born Saturday Nov 16th 1918 Gateshead England
To put that date in perspective:
a. The Russian Revolution was raging and the Romanov family had just been executed in Russia.
b. Fighting in the first world war had just ended on Nov 11, 1918

Army:
Mum joined the army with the ATS, AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE and was sent to Kenya
(Queen Elizabeth II also served as a truck driver with the ATS during WW2)

Marriage:
Whilst in the army Mum married Dad 24 th April 1944 and comitted herself to married life in Kenya

Children:
In the next few years mum had 5 children:
* Kevin Stephen and Richard born in Kenya
* Pauline born in England 1950
* Dot born in Kenya

Family moves to UK 1960, except for Dad

Family moved to South Africa 1964

Mum lived in the Pretoria area from 1964 until her death in 2015

Last Years:
In the Last few years, after Mum was mugged for about the 4th time in Pretoria while walking to or from daily Mass, Pauline and Dot made Mum go and live with them.

And there she lived with Pauline, Dot and Andrew until she died peacefully on the 6th December 2015 in Littleton South Africa.

Mum's Fortitude
 For a few years in Kenya we lived in a wooden farm house that Dad built. It was situated on Clara Destro's Villa Franca Farm adjacent to the Nairobi National Park. Clara was dad's sister. Some animals and especially lion used to jump the fences and come onto the farm land to kill farm animals. I do not remember Mum ever complaining.

Mum's Courage
 This farm life was after Mum came back to Kenya from England after Pauline's' birth and during the Mau Mau revolt. The Mau Mau revolt occured between 1952 and 1960 and their tools were murder, and terrorist activity intended to shock and intimidate. People were murdered on our farm and the owners of the quarry adjacent to the farm were butchered.

 It was a dangerous place to live and we lived in dangerous times, made more dangerous because Dad was often away hunting, during which periods Mum would be alone especially when we kids were in boarding school. But even when we were home we were mere children, and Mum was only a 5ft-2 woman.

Mum was canny yet generous with her money
 Mum had no pension and no husband for the last 30 or so years of her life. Yet she always seemed to have enough, and managed to trade quite successfully on the stock exchange for a while. She had a gift for conserving money and for turning small amounts into greater ones, and always had the welfare of her family in mind.
 With only minimal income from her investments and the occasional gifts from her sister Cathy, she even managed to buy and pay for a bachelor flat for Richard to live in after he was no longer able to work.

Mum and Conrad
Mum did not have a lot to do with her grandchildren except for Conrad whom she often looked after and helped to raise.

Mum in her later years.
 Mum's recall and mental facilities had been degenerating gradually over the last few years of her life, but to the last, Mum still had good days when she surprised everyone and was quite aware of who was who.

Mum's essence was her Faith
 However one thing she did not lose at all was her faith. Mum carried her rosary and her said her prayers frequently.

 One day I was listening to the hymn 'Tantem Ergo' and the words - 'let faith be a supplement for the failing senses' suddenly came to life.

 I realized that this was truly Mum's essence now and it was her reason for living - her raison d'être, and that her faith was truly a substitute for her failing senses.

Dot, Pauline and Andrew

Dot, Pauline and Andrew who looked after Mum in the last few years of her life until her death. Feeding, making beds, cleaning, medical care, massaging. True living saints, they did it without complaint and with diligence - God bless you.

Joan Kerswell

Joan Kerswell - ordained by the Church to administer certain sacraments, brought mom communion once a week for several years - She was Mums' friend for many years - thank you so much.

Elanor McCully

Elanor McCully for being the most persistent and gracious friend visiting mom long after mom didn't quite know what was what anymore - Truly you are a great friend - thank you.

Fr. Seferi Motsepe

Fr. Seferi is the Lyttleton parish priest. So affable and accommodating in doing the requiem mass at such short notice.. Thank you sincerely.

Atholie Duigan

Atholie Duigan for playing the organ and without a thought of whether she had other things to do or not. The beautiful sounds that came from you and the choir are truly memorable. - Thanks so much.

The Choir

That choral music enchanting the whole church with your wonderful voices and the descants of the lead singer. Magnificent and thank you very much.

PAT DE NOBREGA

Pat and the ladies group for preparing the refreshments at the last minute even whilst they were preparing for their own annual luncheon. How can we thank you enough!

Prayer Group Our Lady of Good Success

The whole parish and especially the prayer group who constantly prayed for mom month in and month out for years. As a parish you demonstrated the love and affection among yourselves and how much greater the group is than the individual. We thank you - let the Lord be with you all.

Aunt Cathy

To Aunt Cathy who contributed to Mum's income many times, we thank you and our prayers are with you now that you are in heaven. Aunt Cathy was a true saint, to which many others can testify.

I know that others also contributed to Mum's welfare from time to time, but as the left hand does not know what the right hand did, we don't know who you are, however, let your reward in heaven be as it is written and promised in the bible.

So many family and friends

To so many family and friends who have wished us well during this period - we thank you sincerely.