Obituary

Dorothy Keable

I have known Dorothy Keable for thirteen or fourteen years, in fact ever since I came to live at Clanfield and joined the sisterhood at the little chapel in North Lane. Dorothy was a regular and faithful member of this group of ladies, and I came to regard her as a friend and a sister in Christ, visiting her occasionally in her flat, and often having quite long chats with her in the chapel on Tuesday afternoons, as we were both early birds!

So I gained quite a store of information about this dear lady, recently departed, in particular with regard to her early years, situations and events which she still vividly remembered and often referred to. There had been hard and difficult times, as she had been given away for adoption by her natural parents, and early taken from the New Forest, which she loved, to live in Hambledon where she never really settled, picturesque little village though it is! Her adoptive parents were kind to her, but at the village school she was mocked and verbally bullied, partly because she wore glasses, which was more unusual then, and also wore what were considered old fashioned clothes, even for those days, apparently! She was also rather shy and reserved, a very sensitive little girl, which didn't help in the rough and tumble of village school life.

However, as is so often the way with sensitive souls, she was very artistic. As a matter of fact we have a picture that she painted hanging in our dining room, and many were the friends who received hand painted cards from her. She also loved poetry and recited and read both poetry and prose very beautifully and with feeling, sometimes even composing some verses herself.

However, when the time came for her to leave school and start earning a living, as was so often the case with poor country girls she was put into service, starting as a little maid of all work, which must have come quite hard to a rather delicate and slender young lady, such as she was. But she did finally graduate to being a cook, which must have been much more congenial!

Later, and more importantly, she became a believer in and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, worshipping at St George's Church and becoming a member of the Mothers' Union. She also attended several other Christian ladies' meetings, including ours at Clanfield. There was a little group which met at a chapel in Mill Road, Waterlooville, and another at Horndean Independent Methodist Church, now meeting at Lovedean. However, for a long time she was troubled by the fear that she could not be forgiven for certain sins she felt she had committed in her younger days. We tried to convince her that the death of her Lord on the cross was sufficient to atone for all her sins if she truly repented and turned from them, and was seeking with all her heart to follow Him in obedience to His teaching and example. However, some little while before her death she confided in the leader of the ladies' group at Mill Road, who visited her in hospital, that she now did really believe that she was forgiven, and was looking forward to going to be with her Lord. She also shared this sentiment with the Vicar of St George's, and others, including myself. So we were able to celebrate her funeral service at this Church with joy and peace in our hearts for Dorothy.

Coralie Head