‘THEY HELD US TOGETHER AS A FAMILY’
Children pay tribute to parents who died within 11 hours of each other
GRIEVING siblings have said their final farewells to their parents – who died within a day of each other.
Ronald and Beryl Smith – whose funeral was yesterday – married in the 1950s. They separated in 1980 but remained good friends and had eight children, 28 grandchildren and 27 great-grandchildren.
On September 19, 85-year-old Ronald passed away from pancreatic cancer at his home in Bradwell.
The next morning – around 11 hours later – Beryl died following congestive heart failure.
The 83-year-old, who lived in Cross Heath, tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to hospital on June 30 – the same day she lost her son Michael to the virus.
Although she recovered from Covid, it gave her complications due to underlying health issues.
Michael’s death was a big loss for Ronald and Beryl, who left behind seven other children, Carol, Yvonne, Loraine, David, Cordelia, Vernita and Christina.
His sister Yvonne Davis, aged 59, from Audley, said: “You wouldn’t expect your son to go before you. They were devastated.
“My mum was in shock and she was very poorly. She got taken to the hospital the day they turned the machines off on my brother.
“She got over Covid but it left her with organ damage. She was traumatised in hospital because with losing your son and having no family around you, it was a difficult time.
“We were with dad when he passed away and we were all devastated. Our David was staying with my mum and we weren’t expecting my mum to go.
“I left my dads and came home to my mum’s and a few hours later she was dying.”
Ronald’s last job was as a caretaker at Knutton St Mary’s C of E Academy.
He also had a job making fireplaces. Beryl used to work in a bakery and would bring home bags of cakes at the end of the week for the children.
She had also had the chance to play darts with 16-times world champion Phil Taylor during her work at Hackney’s.
Yvonne added: “My mum used to do big shops and give all her food away. She loved Christmas and would put a tree up on November 1.
“My best memory is just spending time with them and going places with them. We used to watch The Chase on telly and mum loved it.
“They were like the glue that held the family together.
“They will be missed and there is a big hole in our lives now.”
In her free time Beryl enjoyed watching quiz shows, playing bingo and knitting. She also liked watching murder mysteries on TV.
Ronald was a keen gardener and he enjoyed watching horse racing and listening to classical music. He learned to play the piano when he was 80-years-old.
A joint funeral was held for the pair at Carmountside Crematorium yesterday.
Daughter, Vernita Wanless, aged 49, from May Bank said: “Family was everything to them, they would put family before themselves. They’d spend their last penny on family even if they had got something they needed themselves.
“Dad always loved fixing things, anything people couldn’t fix he would do it. I loved to play games with both of them. We used to play lots of board games together.
“I was playing bingo with my mum the week before she passed away and it cheered her up because with all this lockdown they didn’t get much fun.
“My mum had a wicked and fun sense of humour and my dad was a true gent. He would open doors for everybody, they were both highly principled. They had a heart of gold and could both talk to anybody instantly. They held us all together as a family.”