last signal

Dad passed away sadly last wednesday but before he died decided to donate his body to science and was collected from ahh and taken to the london anatomy office he is only the second to be accepted by the institute this whole year - god bless dad!

A SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING FOR NORMAN HARRIS.
29TH October 1913 – 11th October 2006

“Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy”
................................author unknown

Music before the service
Jesu Joy of Mans Desiring : J.S.Bach
The Lord is my Shepherd : Howard Goodall
Opening Prayer

Hymn: Be Thou my Vision
Be thou my vision, o lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art.
Thou be my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.
Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, lord;
Thou my great father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.
Be thou my battle shield, sword for the fight;
Be thou my dignity, thou my delight;
Thou my souls shelter, thou my high tower:
Raise thou me heavenward, o power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor mans empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High king of heaven, my treasure thou art.
High king of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heavens joys, o bright heavens sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, o ruler of all.

Collect.

Reading.
Tribute: Estelle Gillett, daughter.
Music: Say Goodbye Bliss
Tribute: Doreen Sharp – sister
Tribute: On behalf of St Marys High Halden

Hymn : The Lord is my Shepherd.
The lords my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E,en for his own names sake.
Yea, though I walk in deaths dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill:
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
My table thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head thou dost with oil anoint
And my cup overflows.
Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me;
And in gods house for evermore
My dwelling place shall be.

Closing prayers including The Lords prayer.
Music – Love is the sweetest thing by Al Bowlly
Donations if wished can be made to Medical Science.
You are invited to join Normans family for refreshments at the Chequers

TRIBUTE TO DAD FOR THE SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING ON 20TH OCTOBER 2006 AT ST
MARY,S HIGH HALDEN



How can I possibly fit everything in to such a small amount of time that I
have got, that I would like to say about my dad.
He was a father and a friend to many as well as myself and my brothers and
sister, and he fitted so much into his 92/93 years.
Always someone who was busy keeping his mind active with what he was
interested in, from the many stories he would tell us about the work he
did toward the building of major motorways and their bridges such as the
M25 and M20, and being the person who came up with the notion of clockwise
and anticlockwise!
And teaching us from childhood about astronomy and building his own
telescopes through which he would show us the moon and the stars, through
to his love of watches and clocks and running his own business for most of
his life repairing them for numerous people in the various towns where he
lived.

He also had a wicked sense of humour and when you were in the middle of a
serious conversation he would quite often turn around and say do you want
to hear a joke! But he was also good at laughing at himself and if he was
visiting he would sometimes say “well I suppose you,ve had enough of the
old git now!

He loved to give his money away and thought nothing of dipping into his
pocket on a regular basis and handing out 20.00 here and there.

The world will be a sadder place without his amazing philosophical mind
and these are a couple of quotes that I feel sum dad up very well.

“Before us lie two paths – honesty and dishonesty. The shortsighted embark
on the dishonest path; the wise on the honest. For the wise know the
truth; in helping others we help ourselves. Character overshadows money,
and trust rises above fame. Honesty is still the best policy.”
Napolean Hill

Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree
with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of
those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking
for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will neither be
successful or happy.”
Napolean Hill

I know that he is now in a happy place and at peace and although I will
miss him always this small verse from the bible which my late mother
included in one of the many letters she used to write to me helps.

“I will instruct thee and teach thee
in the way that thou shalt go
I will never leave the nor forsake thee
For I am with you
All the days of your life