Norman Eric Creedy ‘Taff’ Thursday 14th March 2024 Lincoln Crematorium 11:10 am Guard Of Honour TBC Flag bearer to lead in Opening Music ‘Time To Say Goodbye’ performed by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli Welcome Good morning and welcome as we gather here today at Lincoln Crematorium to celebrate the life of Norman Eric Creedy, affectionately known to many of you here today as ‘Taff’ My name is Brendan Pickering, I am an Independent Funeral Celebrant and I am honoured to have been asked to lead today’s ceremony. I thank you all for your presence here today, to share in this celebration of Taff’s life. It has been traditional in our culture to regard a funeral as a grimly sad occasion, but you all know that Taff was a man of immense wit, character, love and warmth and he would not want that, so the best way we can say goodbye is to honour his achievements and for us to celebrate his life. So today we will say farewell, honour and pay our respects to man that has touched all of your lives. It is an opportunity to be together and say goodbye to someone who has been loved and respected, but it is much more than that; it is the celebration of the life that Taff led and an opportunity to reflect on his uniqueness and those special qualities that made him the man he was. Poem ‘ Right Now I’m In a Different Place’ written by Anonymous Author Right now I’m in a different place And though we seem apart I’m closer than I ever was, I’m there inside your heart. I’m with you when you greet each day And while the sun shines bright I’m there to share the sunsets, too I’m with you every night. I’m with you when the times are good To share a laugh or two, And if a tear should start to fall I’ll still be there for you. And when that day arrives That we no longer are apart, I’ll smile and hold you close to me, Forever in my heart Celebrating the Life of Taff Creedy Written and read by Suzi During his 75 years Taff has seen and been part of much change in the world. He leaves her family and friends with so many memories, Taff's daughter Suzi would like to share some of these memories of her dad with you now. Dad was known by lots of different names “Taff, Norman, Dad, Grandad, Great Grandad, Cpl Creedy,” Whilst today is a sad day because we are all here to say final goodbyes to dad, we would like today to be a day full of fond memories of all the great times and a celebration of the full and varied life he and mum had together. My dad was always on the go, he was an organiser, he always had a hobby/passion to follow and he was very much into giving back into the local community. We have so many fond memories of dad’s antics over the years. In the Late 70’s early 80’s dad was very much into Judo and self-defence, so much so he and mum ended up running the British Army Judo club in Am Niederfeld, this led to him competing in Paris and winning several competitions. One of the big things with dad running the Judo club and other self-defence classes, was that he really wanted his children especially, his 3 daughters to be able to defend themselves if needed, unfortunately this led to him creating a hurricane in the form of George who could take down all the boys she went against and regularly had them in head locks (poor old Rich). Yvonne and I were a little too young for the Judo club, but when we were a little older, he created a Ladies Self Defence club in Quetta Park Aldershot, where he taught the local ladies free of charge to use a “Cubitan” – for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a small approx 8 inch stick used as a keyring. Well, I was about 7 at this point, and dad wanted to use me to show the ladies how easy this Cubitan was to use, so he showed me how to use it and asked me to demonstrate to the ladies in the group – I was in my element, of course I was going to show how it was used. Dad prepped himself, thinking his little one would be gentle with him – Oooooo how wrong he was, within seconds he was on the floor with tears in his eyes – he’d taught me a little too well and was now regretting it – It did however do wonders for the group, even if it dented his ego a little….. We had a wonderful life during the 80’s and lived in a small military town called Asemissen where dad joined a group call the Buff’s (RAOB) – For those of you not familiar with this organisation, it is something similar to the LIONS Club or ROUND TABLE. The sole purpose of this group was fundraising for the community and local charities, this group was made up entirely of the men from the local community. Every Christmas a merry group of 4 of the Buffs would go out on a Charity run over a weekend, this charity run involved going around every flat in the community with a collection tin and obviously because it was during the festive part of the year, they would have a small tipple at every flat – I’m sure you can imagine the state the four of them would get into!.... We remember mum having to put him to bed after these events and Rich & George I think have very embarrassing memories of their dad coming down to the Youth Club singing for cash. Asemission in the 80’s was full of fun for everyone, its where Richard found out he couldn’t fly across the trees like a squirrel and dad had got a call from the RMP’s to pick him up after a particularly boozey camping trip, For George – Dad always remembered when her, Sandy and Andrea went into town one day and when he had to pick them up, they had green Hair! He was not impressed, he made them put coats over their heads until they got back to the house – Mum, Nonnie and I were howling, it was hilarious – He was furious. For Nonnie and I, dad was very much into the outdoors and camping was a favourite, so he would enrol us into these week long summer camps where he would be one of the camp leaders – we still have the memories of dad teaching the older kids to ‘Break Dance’ – Dad’s breakdancing was the equivalent of dad dancing today – he was doing forward rolls (badly) over the mats – I think we went to hide in our tents… We moved back to England in 1988 settling into Grantham, dad completed his Military service at the Prince William of Gloucester Barracks and moved away from being a serving Military man after achieving 22 years in the British Army. He was awarded his LS&GC and saw quite a few tours of active service during this time. Dad loved his life in the military, and it certainly helped to shape all of us. In 1988 We joined the Grantham Division of the St John Ambulance, this became a pivotal part of our family life and very soon dad became in charge of running it, becoming the Divisional Superintendent – He loved this role and would be seen volunteering every weekend at the Go-Kart and Banger racing. During this time dad also retrained as a Paramedic and started working for Leicestershire Ambulance service. Dad had found a new passion outside of the Military. When dad took over the Division, it had 2 Ambulances, CD 241 and CD 242, CD241 unfortunately was a little dated and dad undertook the task to fund raise for a Brand-New Ambulance – Which with a lot of hard work and dedication he achieved, and Grantham Division got its first ever brand new purpose built Ambulance. We are very proud of him for this. We have so many memories of this time, it’s a struggle to fit it all in but one of proudest moments we have of dad was when he was awarded his Serving Brother Medal from the Order of St John, this was presented to him by the Duke of Gloucester at an Investiture in London. We are all really looking forward to listening to your St John memories including all the good times. Dad was incredibly proud of all us children and never more so than when Yvonne graduated from Leicester University with her nursing degree – He was positively beaming the day of her graduation – He was so very proud. Around 2005 dad’s health started to fail, he had spinal Stenosis which was caused by a lot of the active service in the military, after a failed operation at the Queens medical centre where they attempted to complete a bone graft from his thigh to his spine, his mobility was not the same, he had to give up his beloved St John Ambulance and eventually had to medically retire from work, but he never lost his sense of purpose or his sense of humour. Mum and Dad were married for 55 years, and together for 56, mum was dads rock, she remained his most favourite person in the whole world, and she looked after him the whole time. They married when they were just 16 & 19 and had a marriage that we the children were really proud of, it had a solid foundation of love and respect. Unfortunately, dad’s health took a major turn for the worst in 2023 when he was admitted to hospital with some really serious illnesses and it became obvious that mum could no longer care for dad at home, his needs became too much for one person to manage. Once dad was ready to be discharged, we were incredibly lucky to able to get dad into the Glenholme Thimbleby Court Care home just 500m down the road, this meant that mum could still see dad every day, but instead of having to cater to all of dad’s care needs, they could have quality time together managing a couple of “date nights” (well afternoons). We as a family will be eternally grateful to all the carers at the home for making both mum and dads last 5 months together as comfortable as possible. I’m sure that now the corridor down from room 4 is a lot quieter, they are missing hearing the words “DARLING” and “HELP” so much. Dad kept his sense of humour the whole time he was there and would often laugh and joke with the team, I am also sure that the home is now awash with more Lattes than ever – Dad certainly kept them all on their feet. Thank You. Dad was incredibly proud of his family, his wife, his children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren and his final days were peaceful, he was ready to go knowing that we would all look after mum. Sleep Well Dad, until our time comes to meet again. We love You. Reflection ‘My Way’ performed by Frank Sinatra There will now be a few moments for your personal reflections and memories of Taff and his life, whilst we listen to ‘My Way’ performed by Frank Sinatra Lords 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 Farewell Family and friends, It is now time for us to say our farewell to Taff.You closed your eyes and were taken to a beautiful place and left us to try and understand. Others are taken, this we know, but you were ours and we loved you so.You’ll be in our thoughts every single day, in our hearts you will always stay. A silent prayer and a tear too, we will always love and miss you. Go with our love, in time we’ll understand,go with our blessing, we will always be holding your hand. As we say our gentle farewell to Taff, hold dear to your hearts your love and precious memories Commital Music ‘The Last Post’ (curtains to close) Flag bearer to raise and lower flag Words Of Comfort When thinking of Taff I was reminded of the following beautiful words written by AA Milne, words that I hope bring you a little comfort at such a difficult time. “Then, suddenly again, Christopher Robin, who was still looking at the world, with his chin in his hand, called out "Pooh!" "Yes?" said Pooh. "When I'm--when--Pooh!" "Yes, Christopher Robin?" "I'm not going to do Nothing any more." "Never again?" "Well, not so much. They don't let you." Pooh waited for him to go on, but he was silent again. "Yes, Christopher Robin?" said Pooh helpfully. "Pooh, when I'm--you know--when I'm not doing Nothing, will you come up here sometimes?" "Just me?" "Yes, Pooh." "Will you be here too?" "Yes Pooh, I will be really. I promise I will be Pooh." "That's good," said Pooh. "Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred." Pooh thought for a little. "How old shall I be then?" "Ninety-nine." Pooh nodded. "I promise," he said. Still with his eyes on the world, Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt Pooh's paw. "Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly, "if I--if I'm not quite--" he stopped and tried again-- "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?" "Understand what?" "Oh, nothing." He laughed and jumped to his feet. "Come on!" "Where?" said Pooh. "Anywhere." said Christopher Robin. So, they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.” As we start to bring our ceremony for Taff to a close, If I could kindly ask that everyone remains seated and your funeral director will guide you to exit the chapel. Donations in memory of Taff are kindly made to Marie Curie and can be left in the donations box as you leave the chapel. Poem 'The Fallen Limb’ written by Anonymous Author A limb has fallen from the family tree. I keep hearing a voice that says, "Grieve not for me. Remember the best times, The laughter, the song. The good life I lived While I was strong. Continue my heritage,I'm counting on you. Keep smiling and surelyThe sun will shine through. My mind is at ease, My soul is at rest. Remembering all, How I truly was blessed. Continue traditions, No matter how small. Go on with your life, Don’t worry about falls I miss you all dearly, But now take my rest, Think of me sometimes And remember my best Today you have joined together to remember the special person that Taff was and to celebrate just how much his life meant to you. Leave now with peace in your hearts and in charity with one another. Thank you for your presence here today. With love, we leave Taff in peace, with respect we bid him farewell Sleep on, Sleep Sound Taff Closing Music 'Spirit In The Sky’ performed by Doctor and The Medics

Dad was a lovely father in law to me. Always had a smile and before his back surgery was hard working and still with St John. I’ve got a photo of Dad and Richard on duty at a Christmas show. Dad was sat there with big ‘pork chop’ sideburns looking like Amos Bradley. Such a lovely man. I will miss him. I’ll try to find the photo.

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