Former member Ray passed away peacefully in hospital in late December ’22 after having spent a few months in a local care home due to his onset of dementia. Oxford Harmony sang to the care home residents and staff on the lead-up to Christmas although sadly Ray had already moved to the hospital by then. Ray’s wife Pauline and family members and friends and several of our members and others from Man Choir and Wantage Male Voice choir, who Ray had also sung with, were packed into the South Oxfordshire Crematorium and later at the Spread Eagle in Abingdon to say goodbye to our long term member.

The entrance music at the crematorium was the wonderful Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy. After the welcome and introduction, his eldest son Tom and daughter Jess gave a warm eulogy which emphasised the role that music and singing had been in Ray’s life. His younger son Sam then read Rudyard Kipling’s poem, If, before the whole congregation was invited to join in with singing Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life from Monty Python’s Life of Brian – including the whistling. This was well supported. After the committal, when Pauline placed a red rose on the coffin, an old singing friend of Ray’s, Geoff Curry, sang Danny Boy and finally Eva Cassidy’s version of Over the Rainbow was played as we left.

At the Spread Eagle it was good to chat and find out more about our lovely departed Bass: Ray.