Fiona Bernice Booth was born on Friday 4th June 1954, at 114 Church Road, Upper Norwood, South London. She was the 3rd child born to Phil & Mim - she has an older brother, David, and sister, Lois – both here with us today.

Mim & Phil had intended to name her Bernice Fiona, but this was reversed on the advice of their older children with their knowledge of current slang. Fiona was not supposed to be shortened, but this changed – no doubt as school-friends reduced it to the name by which most of us know her: “Fi”.

13 Harold Road was not only their home but also the headquarters of a new Christian Ministry begun by Phil and Mim. Being part of the missionary society known as WEC, and having worked for some years in the literature branch, CLC, in 1961 they felt God was prompting them to set up Radio Worldwide, which developed and produced numerous programmes to be broadcast by transmitters across the world. 2 small bedrooms were converted into a control room and studio. A red light was installed to indicate when recording, one team member called this a “Fi-fi shusher”!

Another family that shared the house for a while, the Osmonds, provided Fi with a friendship that lasted a lifetime: – Rachel’s life, that sadly ended nearly 2 years ago. Ray (as we knew her) married Phil Pascoe and together they moved to West Canada, British Columbia, from where Phil has travelled to be here today – thank you.

Early in her life, it was realised that Fi’s health was a cause for concern. Phil wrote about this, in passing, in his book about Radio Worldwide, entitled “Slim Fingers”. He writes:
“In the background all this time was our daughter’s health. Month after month she became worse… Miriam & I had no more than 2 hours’ consecutive sleep for half a year.”

Phil goes on to say that, eventually, a diagnosis was made – which we know was Cystic Fibrosis.The prognosis then, for this disease was not good. And yet Phil could write:
“It is worth recording that our infant daughter has grown up into a young woman blessed by God and serving Him.”

I’m sure John would agree with Phil’s assessment – and adds that If anyone had told her parents, or her, that she would live to be 62, the natural reaction would be to laugh at the improbability.

It is for that reason that she chose the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as the charity for donations today so that research can continue to work toward providing solutions to cure this genetically inherited disease.

I know John would also like me to mention the wonderful care that the Brompton and Harefield Hospitals gave her over those years.

David and Lois both remember helping their parents by sitting by her cot when sleep was not coming – then tiptoeing away. Later, Fi was well enough to attend Sydenham High School where she didn’t need to let on to her classmates about her illness. Since this was the same school that Lois had attended, the headmistress – Miss Yardley – was aware of Fi’s difficulties and was pleased to have her. However, one of the staff persisted in calling her ‘Lois’ much to Fi’s annoyance!

When Fi was about 17 she needed a sinus operation. Lois took her down to Sydenham Children’s Hospital – the ward sister had not checked her date of birth and was clearly not expecting a strapping 17-year-old who needed a full-sized bed! So, they had to return in the afternoon by which time they were organised. Fi enjoyed the attention of the young Drs– an intelligent young lady made a change from all the babies and young children.

John knows that Fi would want to thank Lois for her care for her little sister – they even ended up sharing a flat. She always looked up to her big brother, David, and loved them both, dearly.

Family life was not always easy – the missionary life of their parents, in a faith-financed community, brought its challenges – but their deep trust in God, based on their love for Jesus Christ, enabled them to witness His faithfulness in answer to the prayers of loving, caring, praying friends.

Fi was always grateful for this strong foundation which stood her in good stead for her life.

That life developed as she left Sydenham High to cross the Thames to study Home Economics at North London Polytechnic. During this course, she spent one Summer in the early 1970s working in a Christian Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall. The Hotel's staff used to go to the home of Ron and Mollie Slee at Pentire after Church on a Sunday evening.

It was there that their son, John, fell in love at first sight with Fi. Afterwards, as he was working in London, Fi invited John for a meal at the house in Herne Hill she shared for a while with her sister, and the rest, as they say is history.

They married on October 4th 1975 at Chatsworth Baptist Church. From college and until the following spring, Fi worked as a home economist for Bejam, now Iceland.

However, John & Fi jumped at an opportunity to move back to Newquay to take over the Bonita Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Lounge from John's parents, where Fi used her cooking and management skills to good effect. During the winter months, she taught cookery at evening classes.

When the Open Brethren Hall in Marcus Hill – where they had been worshipping - closed, they found a lovely welcome at St. Columb Minor Parish Church under the ministry of Jim Edwards.

On 28th September 1981, Fi again beat the odds by giving birth, albeit prematurely, to Craig at Treliske Hospital, Truro (they were about to go on a boating hospital with friends, Tim & Carol Dakin, on the Norfolk Broads). Despite her own physical limitations, she willingly took on the responsibility of caring for her precious son – a lifelong reciprocal loving relationship.

After selling the Ice Cream Parlour, they moved to Taunton where Fi did some evening Banquet waitressing at the County Hotel. From there, the family moved to Enfield where John trained for the Anglican ministry at Oak Hill College. It wasn't a particularly happy time for Fi, not just because it was in North London, but the small flat with a young son, the distance from the College and perhaps the community life again, put a strain on her.

However, God had a plan and John's curacy was back at St. Columb Minor and Colan with Jim Edwards. Fi found a ready friend in Maureen Edwards that lasted throughout the rest of her life.

Their next home was at St. Mawgan, just outside Newquay. It was at this stage that Fi's health deteriorated until John was told, when she was in London's Brompton Hospital, that she would not be coming home again unless she could have the lung transplant for which she had been waiting for many months. Thankfully, there was a suitable match – just in time – and Fi was always so grateful to the parents of the organ donor for allowing her a new life.

After just over 3 months in hospital with complications, she returned home to a second life. Once or twice a week, she went line dancing, even persuading uncoordinated John to join in. As well as being a mother, Fi began work again, this time at the village tea rooms, part time.

Then, she took a full-time job as a Carers Support Worker based in Truro, eventually managing the project's team of 8. In this she found real fulfilment. She made new friends through the new career – particularly Angela Rowe, who became a best friend. Her colleagues respected her for her faith and generous spirit.

Apart from a few years when Craig was young, when Florida and Disneyworld were holiday destinations, John & Fi holidayed annually on narrowboats on the canals. In 2001, around the time they moved to St. Mawes, they bought a share in “Twelfth Night” which gave them 4 weeks a year to help decide if eventual retirement onto the canals would be something that they would enjoy.

In 2006, they took the plunge, and designed, ordered and purchased a 57' narrowboat which they named “Epiphany” (after all Epiphany comes after Twelfth Night). Unexpectedly, John had to take early retirement in 2007 and they moved onto Epiphany at Devizes Marina. Fi worked with Age Concern's befriending service but in August 2008 they decided to “let go fore and aft” & set out from Pewsey, continuously cruising the canals and rivers of England and Wales. Being of “no fixed abode” they were grateful to friends John & Carolyn Langridge, who provided them with a land-base.

From the start, Fi wrote a blog on the Epiphany website which attracted and still attracts many readers with her interest in the history of the places visited. Several people took to the canal live-aboard life after reading the blog or meeting Fi and John. She wrote a monthly illustrated article for the Canal Boat magazine & also wrote a guide to the North Yorkshire waterways.

In 9 years, they covered practically the whole system, cruising over 7,500 miles and working nearly 4,500 locks, to arrive, in September last year, on the Lancaster Canal to see how they got on “up north” in the winter. It seems that God's hand was in that plan, first arranged in January 2016.

The year would not be a good one for Fi's health – she spent time in Stafford, Harefield, Preston and Lancaster Hospitals before, in 2017, she was in the Royal Preston Hospital again, with pneumonia. As always, Fi fought hard throughout, against chest infections and a neurological problem which meant she lost feeling from her feet and legs, being eventually paralysed from the waist down.

It was only in the last few days that she acknowledged that she couldn't see herself fulfilling the dream of leaving hospital to live near Craig and Lucie, both of whom she loved dearly, in a flat overlooking the canal and she died peacefully on Sunday 29th January
.
She will be missed by so many – as tributes on the muchloved.com website testify.

Fi has now crossed the bridge to a place where there’s no sorrow or pain.