Tribute to Dennis Thody, 22nd January, Hugh Keatinge
It is a great honour, Marjorie, to be asked to pay tribute to Dennis this morning and it is no easy task because he was a man of so many parts, throughout a span of 88 years, during which he was always doing something... usually for somebody else.
Dennis was born on 30 June 1921 to Amy and Bill, always referred to as Father Bill. His mother was the daughter of a Governess to the family of a member of the Aristocracy. Probably the greatest tragedy of Dennis' life was the death of his mother at the time of the birth of his brother, when Dennis was aged 8 and old enough to remember his mother well. He never forgot that event and it did much to shape Dennis the man for the rest of his life. The family was a real family of the North Fens, where his grandmother, the former Governess, owned a large house containing a private school, which Dennis eventually inherited and where he started his teaching career in the Private Sector.
Like so many of Dennis' generation, war interrupted his development as a young man and he had to go forth and do his bit. He served at sea in merchant ships, among those bravest of men, the merchant navy crews, rather than in the Royal Navy where you can at least fight back; Dennis' ship was in support of the landings at Anzio on the coast of Italy in early 1944 when it was torpedoed. He was one of the lucky ones and was pulled from the water...
After the War, he studied for a degree in Theology at King's College London, achieving the distinction of becoming an Associate of King's College. It had been his intention to study for the priesthood, but he eventually decided not to go down that path; an interesting decision because it was based on the fact that he did not feel that he could undertake to conform with all the customs, traditions and requirements of the Church of England and interesting because that decision underlines his strength of mind... when he believed in something, that belief was unshakeable. During his time at Kings College he also developed a deep interest in architecture and in Music, where his great loves were music by Mahler and Bruckner. These were interests which stayed with him for the rest of his life and he added to his love of music by having taken lessons on the Organ at the Church in Cranleigh Gardens, Kensington so that his teaching certificate included music and when he moved to the Valley, he joined the rota of organists in the Parish.
After graduating, he taught in the private sector, in the family school, but then moved to the public sector having done a diploma at St Paul's College Cheltenham, where he met and sang with Donald our organist. He taught in a number of places including Tring, before moving to St Clement's school in Bournemouth, which proved to be blessing, because it was there that he met Marjorie. In 1967, he bought Wessexford in Upper Woodford, where he was to live for the rest of his life, teaching at Durrington until retirement. In 1968 Dennis and Marjorie were married. For the first couple of years of their marriage, they were joined by Marjorie's mother until her death; to divert briefly, Dennis had the happy knack of enjoying a situation under almost any circumstances and he never forgot the day when the then Bishop came to Wessexford. Marjorie's mother, a staunch Methodist, but housebound, had asked to receive Communion. The Bishop agreed come to the house and to confirm her. As he placed his hands on her head, the kitten of the house, and there was always one about, jumped up... the Bishop placed his hand on the kitten's head to restrain it. As Dennis was fond of saying, all present, including the Bishop, agreed that both the mother in law and the kitten had been suitably confirmed!
As well as Music and Architecture, Dennis developed a great interest in railways, especially enjoying the sight and sound of steam. He was a founder member of the Salisbury and South Wilts Railway Society; was a great model railway enthusiast and reached many people through his railway interest, including working with the County Youth officer to set up both outings and also two Camps to help with work on the then emerging Bluebell Line.
He made wine by the gallon, he delivered the parish magazine until quite recently and in all weathers; he visited anybody who might need help and underpinning Dennis' whole life and all that he did was his firm belief in God. His early church life was in a High Church on the edge of the Fens where he was the Boat boy accompanying the Thurifer, the Incense man. After graduating from University, and returning to the Boston area to teach, he was licensed as a Reader, a simple act at the end of Cathedral evensong, and along with others would be found on Sundays cycling to remote churches to take matins or evensong. When he moved South, he found there was less need for readers, but continued faithfully to support the Church and in 1967 became the first Reader in the Parish of the Woodford Valley. He was heavily employed in 1968 when the Rev Tovey, the Vicar, was taken terminally ill and in the subsequent interregnum. He was also strongly to the fore when the possibility of closing this Church arose and both he and Marjorie devoted themselves tirelessly to keeping things going. Dennis was a wonderful example of a man who not only had a deep faith, but was prepared to do something about it - outside the immediate life of the Church, he was Secretary to the Readers in two Deaneries, was on the Readers Board and Secretary for the Readers Examination System. Until recently he acted as a Cathedral Visitors Chaplain. A wonderful record of Service.
No tribute, however, would be complete without mention of his work for the Woodford Valley Club - the Senior Citizens. In 1988, Dennis and Marjorie were persuaded by George Hobbs to take over the running of the Club, which at the time had 70 members on its books. They worked tirelessly to keep the Club going. Still the Club meets on first Tuesdays, led to the very end by Dennis. For years the Summer Coach outings were looked forward to by all concerned and if the trip was to be to an architectural gem, the editor of the Bridge needed to leave ¾ of a page for the report and if the architectural gem included a railway connection - a page and a half. And they were always worth reading.
I have mentioned Marjorie several times --- what a terrific team and Dennis was always such a supportive and steadfast husband.
In many ways and among all the good things which Dennis did, the Woodford Valley Club summed him up - he would go to endless trouble to help others, to arrange events, to share his wide knowledge; steadfast in adversity; firm in faith. If I had to use one word to sum up his life, that word would be... selflessness.
Utter selflessness.
I pray with confidence that Dennis, Servant of his God and of his fellows here on earth, now rests in peace.
Hugh Keatinge