A KIND and generous man, affectionately known locally as “Mr Cheriton Fitzpaine”, was remembered at a Service of Thanksgiving for his life at St Matthew’s Church, Cheriton Fitzpaine, on Monday, August 20.

Albert Raymond Sanders, known as Ray, was born and died in the village.

A popular man, his funeral service at the parish church was followed by a further service for close family and friends in Cheriton Fitzpaine Methodist Church, which he had attended since he was a boy.

In the packed parish church for the Service of Thanksgiving, Ray’s son Trevor, read a heartfelt tribute to his father.

He explained: “Ray was born in Jubilee House, Cheriton Fitzpaine, on December 5, 1928 no more than 100 metres from where he passed away at Bary Close.

“Dad came from a background of farming families and tailors, both his dad, who was also called Albert, and his paternal grandfather were tailors.

“Dad was an only child and during the war was delighted when an evacuee was posted to his home.

“Leslie Jarvis was to come and live with them for a few years. It was great that dad saw Les, now living in Eastbourne, only a few weeks ago as he was the nearest he had to a brother.

“This gave them time to reminisce and discuss the tricks they used to get up to as two little boys. Whilst living at Jubilee House next to the Half Moon Inn they used to take it in turns to use a pea shooter to catch the merry customers leaving the Half Moon.

“They also made a cart and trailer out of an old pram and on one occasion went down over Coddiford Hill with no brakes.

“Dad’s new hob nail boots were to take a pounding and were completely ruined and he was not a popular boy on his return home. They also thought they would copy a gentleman in the village who used to smoke a pipe, so they got a saw and removed three inches off each leg of a Bambo chair and used hay seeds plus a little fluff from under the bed for tobacco.

FARMING CAREER

“When he was a boy and trying to earn some money he bred rabbits and guinea pigs which he would then sell for a profit, with which eventually he was able to buy his first seven cows to start his farming career.

“As a teenager he got his grass feed from cutting the Chapel graveyard. He continued to cut the graveyard right up until last summer, 80 plus years of service - not bad.

“He also had 20 mole traps where he would catch and sell the skins. He also used to do a little illegal scrumping until the local policeman caught him and his friends and ‘banged their heads together’. A punishment remembered for life.

“He was also a rat catcher during the war and would collect up the tails and take them to the Government buildings in Exeter, 100 at a time, where he would get a penny per tail. The tails were supposed to be counted by the secretaries, but it wasn’t long before dad discovered they rarely did so. A Country Boy Entrepreneur.

“By the time dad was 16 his dad had bought some land at Farthings Park just outside the village where he started farming with the seven cows, some pigs and 100 chickens. Dad milked up to 20 cows by-hand before being able to buy a milking machine.

“One of dad’s best friends in life was Ronnie Carr and they grew up together and spent a lot of time with each other. They went to concerts together and were on the Chapel committee as treasurer and secretary.

“On one occasion when dad was in hospital suffering with appendicitis, Ronnie was to join him in hospital the same night with the same condition. Ronnie was dad’s best man and dad was Ronnie’s best man.

“In the 1960’s they started up a farm syndicate together where they would share the cost and use of the farm machinery. In all of those years of working together they never fell out.

DRESSING UP

“Dad had a history of dressing up as a woman… even as a little boy of 10 years-old. There was a concert at the Parish Hall and he and Harry Martin played the happy couple, dad was to play the female role. Later in many village pantomimes dad’s hand was the first to go up when a person was required to play the dame.

“While on a Young Farmers’ trip to Denmark, dad met our mother Gwerfyl Edwards from North Wales.

“They married two years later and started to bring a family up at Farthings Park where they built a house to live in. They produced ‘three sons’, Michael, Glyn and myself, Trevor.”

While his parents later separated, Trevor added that his father was very proud of his children.

He continued: “As the farm progressed they bought more land at Hannabeth, Redyeates, Waterhouse and Coddiford, which was to become our home.

“The house at Coddiford was in a bad way, and in fact had to have the demolition order removed, and so needed much work, they managed to get a water tank in the living room and linked it up to an old Rayburn to get some hot water, it slowly started to come together with the help of Harry Martin and sons, builder and friend.

“In the early 1990’s, dad now retired, got together with the love of his life Ellen. They were inseparable and planned everything together, travel was top of the list and they visited 47 places all over the world in total.

PROUD

“Ellen and her family meant the world to dad and they gave him a bigger family to be proud of.

“They had special times with all of their grandchildren such as Teagan and Georgia staying the night and sharing tea and biscuits in bed. There were also plenty of trips to the Ice show with dad driving a red minibus.

“In 2005 on a trip to Norway dad was to propose to Ellen and they went on to get married in South Dakota where my brother Glyn and family live, and then celebrated on their return with family and friends.

“They had a fantastic time together and were great partners. Sadly Ellen and dad were not to have as much time together as they would have liked as Ellen passed away a few years ago.

“Dad always loved singing and even in his teenage years he was very proud to sing with his father in various concerts. “Later in life he joined a group of local singers called the Ad-Hoc Singers, and also Exeter and Ilfracombe Male Voice Choirs and not to leave out the Tiverton Barbershop Singers. With the Ilfracombe choir dad and Ellen had some fantastic holidays, bringing two of his great passions together, travelling and singing.

“Trying to get hold of dad proved to be very difficult for family and friends as he was busy doing something most nights. It enabled most of us to have a meaningful relationship with his answerphone. Even on a dark winter’s night with the rain pouring down he would likely as not be out singing somewhere.

VILLAGE LIFE

“Dad embraced Cheriton Fitzpaine Village life, and not long ago he was giving guided village tours telling us about who lived in which house and where there were two butchers, two bakers, two tailors, who did what and where. If there was a club, he joined it and he was often first to take part, Young Farmers’, drama group, parish council, breakfast club, Master of Ceremonies for Methodist socials and celebrations such as birthday parties and wedding anniversaries.

“He particularly enjoyed Cheriton Carnival where he loved to be the Town Crier, ringing his bell to wake everybody up in the morning …Ahh that will be Ray Sanders.

“Then he would join in the Carnival itself. A particular memory of mine is when he dressed up with a friend as two medical surgeons with a pole between their shoulders with real pigs intestines, hearts, lungs, liver all swinging in the breeze with the title at the top saying it is an ‘offal mess’.

“I fear Health and Safety might have spoilt their fun today.

“For all the roles that dad has played in village life, not a lot of you may know this, but dad is Father Christmas.

“Just under three years ago dad was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the time we didn’t know if he was looking at a couple of weeks, a couple of months or a couple of years.

POSITIVE

“Typical of dad he set his target at three years to reach his 90th birthday. He was to remain positive throughout, and he almost made it.

“Dad wanted to end his days in his own home in his own village and over the last few weeks he was to see an amazing amount of people.

“We were thinking of getting a revolving door put in the bungalow so we could get bigger footfall in and out.

“He was a marvellous patient who never complained and was always thanking people for their efforts.

“In particular I would like to thank Catherine who was a great friend to dad and without whose help it would have been much more difficult for dad to stay at home.

“Very typical of dad he had some favourite phrases that would always get used in particular at Christmas time when he had just finished the turkey off his plate he would say ‘Cor this one went down singing hymns’ or another one was ‘ Cor this one died happy’ and he did.”

He thanked the large congregation for attending the celebration of his father’s life, which included fine singing from the choir members present.

Trevor said it had been a life well lived.

Trevor added that before his death, Ray pulled together his memories in a book called “Life at Cheriton Fitzpaine”, which David was able to show Ray in book format on the night he passed away.