lesley fowkes
I am writing the saddest words today as I report of the tragic
loss of lovely Lesley Fowkes who has passed away after the
bravest battle against Motor Neurone Disease.
Lesley and her devoted husband Martin joined the Society in
February 2012 and in the space of those eight years, they
made so many friends at the Blackpool conventions.
I found Lesley to be such a warm-hearted person who would
always wear a beautiful smile and always had the happy
knack of making you feel just that bit special when she
spoke with you.
She was such a talented lady, a wonderful writer, she
created a totally readable and immersive blog/website,
chronicling her ukulele adventures and sharing her thoughts
on so many subjects, including how she managed to face
the dreaded illness that she was diagnosed with.
"Life's A Ukafrolic! - Life For A Lady With a Ukulele Or Two"
is such an achievement and tells the reader so much about
this wonderful lady.
She also created a Facebook group and named it "Where
Eagles Fly" which also allowed Lesley to record her day to
day highs, lows, struggles and moments when despite
everything, Lesley could still take joy and happiness from
someone or something that had happened to her that day.
After Lesley and Martin joined the GFS, they would attend
each of the four Blackpool conventions and it was not too
long before Lesley was tentatively venturing on the stage to
sing some of her lovely songs.
Such a modest lady, she would play and sing and then at the
end breathe a sigh of relief when in fact you could hear a pin
drop as she held the audience's attention.
It only seems a short time since she was diagnosed with this
terrible illness and she must have had such fears and
sadness at this devastating blow.
It beggars belief to think how anyone would cope with such
tragic news.
Lesley rose to the occasion and immediately involved herself
in a campaign to raise funds to find a cure for this awful
condition. Her closest GFS friend, Caroline Stewart, dived
straight in to help in any way that she could to support
Lesley and her chosen charity. With the help of many GFS
friends and the membership of the Society, thousands of
pounds have been raised.
Lesley never stopped fighting and never lost her lovely charm and grace. I sincerely hope that her blog pages will stay in place as they tell
the reader so much about this talented, charming ukulele lady.
I am aware that there have been many tributes to Lesley on social media and there is such sadness from all who had the pleasure of
knowing her. On behalf of all the GFS, I send Martin, Alice and David our sincerest condolences. I feel that these words are inadequate, they
do not have Lesley’s style or flair but they are all that I can offer for this delightful lady who will be sadly missed by all who knew her.
Peter Pollard
28 October 2020
There are countless dedications to Lesley all
over Facebook. I have endeavoured to archive
some of them on the next page so that they will
not get lost or disappear from the original
source.
In normal times, the funeral of Lesley would
have attracted a crowd of hundreds at least. In
these sad times, that was not possible.
For those who could not be there, you are able
to view the order of service in pdf format on
this page.
