Real memorial obituaries – Combe Down, Monkton Combe, Midford

In memoriam et celebrationem

In memorial and celebration

Glenys Green (nee Wynne) passed away peacefully in her sleep after a short illness, on Monday 15th May 2023, aged 89 years old.

She is survived by two of her children, Michael and Nigel, and 7 grandchildren: Kim, Sally, Adrian, Joanne, Georgia, Dominic and Henrietta. Richard, Glenys’ beloved husband, sadly passed away in 1987 and her daughter, Angela, passed in 2014.

Glenys was born in the RUH in Bath, on 11th January 1934 to her parents Henry and Phyllis Wynne. She was the eldest of three children, having a younger brother, Geoff, and a younger sister, Paula.

After moving around a few places, Glenys’ family settled in Monkton Combe in 1937, somewhere which would hold a special place in her heart forever.

From singing in the choir in the local church to teaching classes for the local infants school at a very young age, Glenys always spoke so fondly about her childhood in the village, albeit wartime.

Her family took in many evacuees throughout the war, including some of her cousins from London, Thelma and Eric. Glenys would always tell of the many stories from her time in Monkton Combe, which involved stories of American soldiers throwing candy and witnessing the “Titfeild Thunderbolt” as it came through Limpley Stoke.

After the war, Glenys’ father, Henry, became chauffeur to a rich family who lived at the top of Brassknocker Hill in Combe Hill House, a place that would become home to her family.

Living next door to the Green family, Nana became very fond of the second eldest – Richard Arthur Frank Green, fondly known to all as Dick.

Glenys and Dick started courting and she would speak fondly about riding pillion on the back of his motorbike and attending dances together in Monkton Combe Village Hall - adhering to her father’s strict curfews of 10pm!

Some years later, the Wynne family left Monkton Combe and Glenys spent a small time moving around different properties where her father was needed to chauffeur.

She ended up spending a short stint living in the basement flat of No. 16 The Royal Crescent, a place that would become very special to Glenys as this was the place the Dick proposed to her. She would often take her relatives, from as far away as Ontario, Canada to show them this place which obviously meant so much to her.

After they married in the 1954, the pair moved to Widcombe where they were blessed with 3 lovely children – Michael, Angela and Nigel. They moved into a flat on Widcombe Crescent in between children.

Glenys would countlessly remind her family about how they all managed to live in 1 bedroom together, with Nigel sometimes sleeping in the bottom drawer as a baby.

It was here where Glenys made lots of life long friends at the Widcombe Young Wives Club, one of whom would become her best friend, Phyllis, who also lived in Widcombe Crescent.

Glenys was able to buy No. 2 Widcombe Crescent, eventually taking in many lodgers to fill the rooms. She would often remind her family whilst she made breakfast that she used to cater for 12 plus people on occasion with her husband, children, lodgers and other guests.

Glenys and Dick lived in Widcombe for many many years until, unfortunately, Dick became too unwell to live there anymore; they uprooted and moved up to St Winifred’s Drive in Combe Down in 1984.

Unfortunately, after a few months, her beloved Richard passed away.

In 1987, after a few happy years in St Winifred’s Drive and the arrival of her first grandson – Adrian - Glenys, Angela, partner Simon and Adrian moved just around the corner to Tyning Road, a place where Glenys would call her home until the end.

Over the next 35 years, she shared this home with her children, grandchildren, their partners, great grandchildren and many strays along the way!

Throughout her life, Glenys worked in various places, including Les Cooks fruit and veg shop in Widcombe, maternity cover at the local deli in Combe Down, but most notably, Glenys worked as a secretary at the Bath Domestic Science College.

If you ever spoke to her about working here, she would tell you one of a few things – the amount of words she could type in a minute, the fact she was totally fluent in short hand and, most importantly, the fact that this was where she first met Mary Berry!

However, Glenys’ greatest accomplishment wasn’t in the workplace, but after work.

Nanas ultimate strength was her care giving. After raising 3 of her own children, whilst also hosting a multitude of lodgers and friends, she would go on to help raise her grandchildren and her great grandchildren, as well as providing comfort and support to anyone who needed it - most notably to the homeless community in Bath.

Glenys spent around 20 years dedicating her time twice a week feeding and talking to anyone who came through the doors of Genesis Lunchbox, a place where she fondly gained the title “Nana to All”. She touched so many lives and will be missed by more people than she could ever know.

Glenys would always say how lucky she was to have her family around her. I’m not sure she ever understood that we were the lucky ones. She treated everyone she met with compassion, warmth and benevolence.

Her legacy is best summarised by John Wesley’s Rule for Christian Living.

"Do All the Good You Can,
By All the Means You Can,
In All the Ways You Can,
In All the Places You Can,
At All the Times You Can,
To All the People You Can,
As long as Ever …
… You Can!"