Yesterday, we bid farewell to Stella in a warm and personal service facilitated by Rev Andy Humm, vicar at St George and St Paul’s Church, Tiverton.  Thanks also to Damon Campbell and Countryside Funerals in Tiverton for their kind and compassionate support. 
You might think that a tribute to a longstanding friend would be difficult to write, but the words have come easily in this, the last gift I can give to Stella.

Although we knew each other at school, our friendship started when we were in our early twenties, with a holiday to Corfu. Stella was then working in the Civil service along with my mum, and she suggested I invited her, as my original partner had to cancel.  Despite our hardly knowing each other we had a wonderful time sunbathing and swimming at the beach.  We retreated from the mid-day heat to feast on taramasalata and Greek salad and in the evenings, enjoyed Greek dancing and cheap local brandy.  Of the latter two, I am not sure which was more dangerous!

Soon afterwards, Stella and I went to a live music gig at a The Greyhound pub in Fulham Palace Road.  We realised it wasn’t our style at all, as the heavy sounds of punk reverberated around us.  We decided to have a drink and leave, then Stella turned to me and said, “There’s a guy over there with the most amazing blue eyes”.  Following her gaze, I saw a tall man with long blonde hair and moustache. John was California personified; and he was on holiday in the UK. 

Stella and John’s relationship never looked back from that day, and it wasn’t long before Stella moved to the States to be with John.  Her parents weren’t best pleased with me for the introduction, but I think they forgave me when I named my firstborn child Stella!

One of my most enduring memories is of the Christmas that John and I colluded to surprise Stella with a visit from him. We managed this by letter and phone – there was no internet then.  I told Stella a white lie, that we had been invited to a party and she should dress up, then I knocked on the door at her parents’ house with John popping up behind me; she could hardly believe it!

Stella and John lived in various American states and UK counties; and all through their transatlantic moves we kept in contact by letter, phone and latterly, by email.  In 2016, Stella and John made a visit to the UK that cemented their desire to return permanently, and they achieved this at the beginning of 2020.  They were our house guests on arrival and after a whistle-stop tour of the local area, they purchased a brand-new house off plan in Witheridge, a village about half an hour’s drive away from our home in Bampton. Unfortunately, Covid hit at this time, and sadly, Stella was diagnosed with cancer during the first lockdown.  She and John were staying with Paul, Alice and family in Godalming and they became trapped by their situation, though I know how much Stella valued this time with her brother and family, despite the circumstances.  Stella bravely bore a barrage of treatment; including chemotherapy and robotic surgery and eventually she was well enough for the move to Devon in December 2020.  A short period of good health followed but it became clear that Stella’s cancer had returned and her health gradually declined.   
I know John will agree that Stella’s fortitude and humour in dealing with cancer was remarkable.  She never complained or asked, “why me?”.  But I also know that she felt the weight of sadness of all of us who are close to her, that she and John were to be denied the retirement they had planned, anticipated, and hoped for.   

During last summer we were able to get together as much as Covid allowed and we enjoyed some special time together.  Stella took each day as it came and refused to let her situation overwhelm her.  She achieved one important item on her bucket list; which was to eat fish and chips at the seaside, something she managed to do with Paul and Alice in Perranporth in November.  John’s sister Linda visited from Arizona and they were all able to catch up with family in Herefordshire, too.
Stella inherited the Brosnahan family’s dry sense of humour which was evident even in the latter stages of her illness.  One day, I gave her a walking stick that I had used after my hip replacement, to aid her balance.  She looked at me and said, “Good heavens, how life has changed.  Suddenly the girls in their twenties are sharing a walking stick!” and we laughed together with great affection, inevitably tinged with sadness.

Stella was a gentle person who lived simply and required nothing more than her loving husband John by her side to make her life complete.  She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew and loved her.