Mary Eddison died July 18th 2007 and the following is the Eulogy given by an unknown person.
Was born on January 1921 at Wivelscombe in Somerset, the youngest of six children of the Rayner family. She spent most of her young days in Exeter where she attended Maynard School for girls, staying an extra year at school to study domestic science and elocution.
At the outbreak of the second world war the London based Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art was evacuated to Exeter and 1940 Mary joined as a student.
During the Baedeker raids on Exeter, Mary showed extraordinary courage by climbing on the roof of her parents house to remove unexploded incendiary bombs and by helping neighbors to rescue belongings from the burning houses – most notably a grand piano.
After the worst of the raids were over, the central school moved back to London and Mary took up lodgings near the Albert Hall where she used to hide in the gods during rehearsals to hear the likes of John Giegud and Lawrence Olivier on the stage. She qualified in speech and drama 1943.
By this time she had met, on a blind date, the young officer in the Guards Armoured Division named John Eddison whom she subsequently married in 1945.
Before and after her marriage she taught elocution and drama at Newcastle High School which had been evacuated to Alnwick Castle.
When Jim was demobilized they set up home in Eaton Terrace in Edinburgh and here their daughter Liz was born in 1947.
Soon the family moved to London for 2 1/2 years where their twin sons John and Andrew were born 1950. The twins brought their special needs but what a caring mother Mary was to all her children.
The family returned up north in the 1950, and have lived in the Currie and Balerno parish ever since. Mary contributed much to the local community, helping the RNLI , the WVS and particularly the local horticultural society of which she was honorary patron.
Few people will know of her love for drama and music (she played the clarinet) but she will be remembered by many of us for her love of flowers and particularly in the more recent years for her attention to her collection of streptocarpus. Mary also very much enjoyed reading, embroidery, and fishing, but above all she was passionate about her family and her dogs, she was a perfectionist in the running of her home.
At one of the new year parties when guests were searching for hidden objects, one friend remarked “I can’t even find any dust!”.
Mary’s homes in Currie and then Balerno were places of warmth and color and not a little laughter. The house was often full of family or friends, too many of whom she was almost a second mother. The hub of the house was her kitchen where delicious meals were created, and where many a happy hour was spent around the boxes of goodies on the kitchen table. There would be a twinkle in her eyes and a directness in her response to people – when she felt like it!
Over the years the family increased to include Richard, her son-in-law; Anne, her daughter-in-law; Kay and Lain her grand children; and – very recently–James her great-grandson, all of whom she loved and each of whom she had a unique friendship.
At 60 years of age she unfortunately developed severe osteoporosis that made her a lot smaller in height. A niece remarked later that when her aunt Mary came to stay she now had to dust under the furniture as well!
As old age slowed her down, as it does to us all, she latterly had difficulty turning her thoughts into speech. However Mary remained happy, never lost determination and rarely lost her sense of humor.
The following words came from the prayer book of her brother in law, David, the late Bishop of Rochester:
She whom we love lose
Is there no longer where she was before,
She is forever where we are.
- To visit the full Genealogy Page please click on:- Rayner
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