Tribute for Suzann Farnsworth - 22 June 2023
It’s not a typo on the order of service, Suzann was christened without an E. Please don’t worry if you ever misspelt it; even her husband Peter got her name wrong on their son’s birth certificate.
Suzann was born on the 8th of April 1960 to Gordon and Ann Wagland, and for the first six weeks of her life, she lived with her grandparents in Ley Lane, Kingsteignton. On the 22nd of May 1960 – exactly 63 years to the day she died – the family moved to Franeth Close in Kingsteignton. Her sister Lisa was born a couple of years later.
She had a quiet, loving upbringing, attending St. Michael’s Infant and Junior Schools and Kingsteignton Secondary Modern. She then trained as a secretary at South Devon Tech College and was offered a job at Rendells as a junior typist, secretary, and personal assistant. Her interview was on a Wednesday – a market day – and she never forgot the smell of sheep in the office, a smell she was to become used to over the years.
She started work in November 1977 and rose to become the secretary of the late Arthur Morgan. It was a job she loved. She probably knew more about the firm than the partners. She thoroughly enjoyed her time with Rendells and loved meeting such a wide variety of people, from farmers to antique dealers and people from all walks of life.
Peter joined the firm in 1979, and in this day and age of allegations of harassment in the workplace - and despite her shyness, it was Suzann who asked him out. A sign of her determination if she decided on something. Suzann and Peter married on the 29th of June 1985, and two years later, they received an early Christmas present, their daughter, Lucy, was born on Christmas Eve. Christmas lunch, I hear you ask? Well, Peter stepped up and into the kitchen and rustled up the lunch, a tradition that continues to this day. On the 3rd of August 1992, Simon came along.
The children meant everything to Suzann. She inspired them to be kind, curious and creative, and little Lucy and Simon would often be found recording their own radio show or baking - all with Mum at the helm, of course. She was a fantastic mother. Loving and caring, supportive and compassionate. She was always on hand to help Lucy craft something for Brownies and the Highweek Village Show or take Simon to his football and cricket matches - and listen to him recount the game’s key points over and over and over again. She was there to support Lucy while she studied at university in Bristol and Sheffield and Simon when he went to university in Portsmouth and moved to Zürich. He spent nearly three years in Switzerland, a country which Suzann loved visiting.
Sometime in the late 1990s, Clive Morgan asked if Suzann would like a small job at Rendells’ antique saleroom in Ashburton. She grew to love working there and meeting all sorts of people. One person she particularly liked was Nancy Jackson, who had known Peter and Suzann for decades before realising they were married. Nancy was aghast. “I always thought you were married to a vicar,” she said to Suzann. Nancy certainly didn’t view Peter as a man of the cloth, especially with the buyer’s premium he helped to introduce.
Suzann also helped in Rendells’ accounts department. She was not a natural with numbers but dealt with advert costings and – importantly – mileage claims. Anyone who knew Suzann knows she was a stickler for detail – as one cheeky colleague found out when he claimed it took 34 miles to drive from Newton Abbot to Kingsteignton. “It was like being summoned to see the headmistress,” he later told Peter. It was a sentiment shared by many over the years. Rules were rules, and despite appearing shy at first, Suzann developed into Rendells’ de facto head of security at all kinds of sales. On her watch, turkey thefts from the year-end poultry sale reached an all-time low. Nothing got past Mrs F.
Her sharp wit was always on display to those who knew her best – even on those freezing, long days in the market for the poultry sale, which once ended with Suzann, Peter and Simon in a Newton Abbot nightclub. But, that’s probably a story for outside of these walls.
Peter spent much of his free time organising various local shows, including the Highweek Village Show and Christow Show. Suzann was always on hand to help, from selling ice creams in Highweek to running a successful dog show in Christow with Lucy. A pretty impressive feat for a duo that doesn’t even like dogs. But that was Suzann: helpful and supportive to a tee.
Well, most of the time.
Rendells and Peter were often roped in to conduct charity auctions, including one for the Teignbridge Conservative Party. A staid affair, if ever there was one. One year, Suzann declared: “There’s no way I’m going, as I’ve nothing to wear.” After some tough negotiations - and fear of going to the event by himself - a deal was struck and a new dress was purchased. On the evening of the event, Suzann came downstairs in a bright red dress. “You can’t wear that to a Conservative do,” Peter exclaimed. “Well, if I can’t, I’m not going,” she bit back. Peter paused. “Ah, but you said a redhead should never wear red,” he replied. “Quite right. But I am tonight,” Suzann said. So, off to the event they went. “What a lovely coloured dress,” was remarked by a number of ladies. Photos were taken of the good and the great, which appeared in the Mid Devon Advertiser with Suzann and Peter at the end. The very same photo was used by the Conservative Party for the 2005 general election leaflet. But guess what? They’d photoshopped out Suzann and her red dress. They were never invited to the auction again.
Suzann was always active and enjoyed long walks with her family. In 2017, however, she started having problems with her right leg. Countless appointments with doctors and physios followed but to no avail. In March 2022, her balance started to wane. Walking soon became harder and doctors organised further tests. The physio thought her neuroposition should be looked at - the first worrying comment. At the end of May, Suzann had her first fall and spent 10 days in hospital. Only a few months before, she’d walked without pain or hindrance around Hope Cove with Lucy and Peter. The disease took hold quickly.
On the 12th of August 2022, after several further tests, she received her diagnosis. Peter’s cousin, Susan, wrote to her the next day: “Wrap yourself around your family and absorb their love and it will give you strength. Take all the help you can get and let your family love you and take care of you.” That is what they tried to do.
Motor Neurone Disease is brutal. It’s cruel and unrelenting and robs you of all bodily function but savagely keeps your mind intact. Suzann met it with unyielding strength, an indomitable spirit and a sense of humour - mainly to ensure Peter kept the house and himself presentable! Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she was soon receiving around-the-clock care from Peter, Lucy and an amazing team of carers from Bluebird. Simon came home frequently, and the love of her two children meant the world to her. It really cannot be understated just how amazing Lucy was in caring for her mother over the past 12 months. Various equipment was provided by the NHS including a computer that Suzann could control with her eyes. She used this to communicate with family and friends all over the world and very much enjoyed photos and videos of all their adventures, including those of her new great nephew and Susan’s grandchildren. For Suzann and family, the device was miraculous. One of Suzann’s final messages was to send a big, big thank you to her carers from Bluebird. “What would I have done without you?” And there, in a nutshell is Suzann: so often thinking of others.
Suzann, a gentle and kind soul, will forever be loved by her husband Peter, daughter Lucy, son Simon and Mother Ann. May she rest in peace.