Sheila Stevens

We thank God for our wonderful aunt and great aunt Shelia, and for all the joy and happiness she spread in our lives and throughout the world. Our hearts were touched by her love and she will never be forgotten. Rest in peace and rise in glory, dearly beloved Shelia.

I first met Sheila when she and Daphne had come from Bedford by train to Sussex for their cousin James’ wedding (he was a fellow officer in the Essex Regiment). They very nearly did not come because Sheila had managed to singe her eyebrows when the oven at home had blown up! It was late in the proceedings when we met and soon they had to dash off to catch a train home and I realised I did not know who they were and with other girl cousins ‘muddying the water’, James when back from honeymoon three weeks later, could not be sure who I had my eye on. A regimental ball was to be held to which I wanted to invite the one by whom I had immediately been smitten. On balance, it was thought to be Daphne, who I invited, saying I would meet her at St Pancras Station. With trepidation I waited to see who would show up. As it happened, it was the one in mind but how fickle can be the wheel of fortune! I am pleased though that Sheila and Bryan had a happy life together in Canada. She stayed with us in Germany for our first married Christmas and has shared many events such as looking after 4 children when Elizabeth was born in Ireland, and has been a constantly loving friend to us all. She and Bryan over the years gave the children wonderful holidays in Canada, which they will never forget. Sheila was the perfect Aunt: we will miss her indeed.

I always think of Sheila (Auntie Sheila) in pastel shades – and smiling! I will miss that smile.
She was always interested in our lives – the children, the farm, and of course the dogs! She rang me just before Christmas and we had a lovely chat, and a birthday card arrived on time in the New Year – as always!
I will always remember her visits to England over the years – the surprise at seeing her and my Mother reverting to teenagers – giggling and squabbling – alike but different! They were certainly alike in their strong love of friends and family and lifelong Christian faith.
Rest in peace now Auntie Sheila .

Dearest Auntie Sheila,
Always loving, always knitting! -sometimes the funniest things! She and her sister, my /our mother, so different but so close. Strong enough to survive premature birth, childhood illness in China, wartime, sorrow and privation in Bedford, then bold enough to move to Canada and brave enough to settle permanently in marriage to Uncle Bryan. You visited us, and we you over the many years of your long life, and we will miss you sadly. Sheila and Daphne – the Kelly girls: held in our hearts always.

Although I first met my great Auntie Sheila as a little girl, I had the pleasure of getting to know her better in December 2015, when she spent a month with my family in Arizona. Our family has many happy memories from this trip, and daily I am grateful for that special time. Auntie Sheila’s enthusiasm for life, her love of dogs, and her contagious smile were displayed prominently during that month. In the year since, we exchanged numerous letters, which I now will treasure all the more. She wrote letters of encouragement and support as I started a new career in nursing, an area she herself trained in, and she never failed to ask after each friend made during her time in Arizona (whether two- or four-legged). My life was made richer by knowing her, and I look forward to the day when we will all be reunited. Rest in peace and rise in glory, Auntie Sheila.