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21
Nov 2023
Laughter and tears at Littlethorpe service for Sylvia Grice
There was laughter and tears at St Michael and all Angels' Church in Littlethorpe near Ripon this morning, as family and friends gathered to celebrate the remarkable life of Sylvia Grice, who died last month at the age of 90.
Every seat in the village church, where she worshipped for 31 years, was taken, as warm thanks were given through prayer, poetry and hymns for decades of dedicated service to the community, in which she taught an estimated 250,000 local people to swim. The family invited the Stray Ferret to attend.
In addition to teaching a skill for lifelong enjoyment and one which can be used to save the lives of others, she was a stalwart supporter of charity, raising funds for the church, Saint Michael's Hospice and Yorkshire Air Ambulance, to name but a few, through her famous garden parties, where she sold a wide array of items that she baked.
Today's funeral service was led by the Dean of Ripon the Very Revd John Dobson (pictured),
In the eulogy given by the Revd Canon Michael Glanville-Smith, he said:
But with help from Sylvia's daughters Alison and Helen, he was able find out and share at least one anecdote that many attending the service may not have heard before.
He pointed out that when she received her MBE for services to swimming in 2011, from the then Prince of Wales:
In 2019, the former Barnardo's girl, who spent her early school years living at Red House — the charity's children's home on Palace Road — was awarded the Freedom of the City of Ripon for her services to the community.
From humble beginnings, she became one of Ripon's best known and loved citizens and Dean John reflected on Sylvia's life-long achievements, when he said:
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