Robert Henry Bewley (Bob)

The Eulogy as Read at the funeral service:
Robert Henry Bewley was born on the 2nd of July 1938 in Hackney Hospital, London.
Bob was the second of 10 close, very tightly-knit children born to Ellen & Charles Bewley.
He, along with his 4 sisters & 5 brothers: Joycie, Patsy, Brian, Valerie, Alan, William, Chrissie, Junie, and Peter had a very happy childhood, living in the secure and loving home created by their parents.
The strong family values learnt there of honesty, truth, kindness & forgiveness stayed with Bob throughout his life, and were, in turn, the foundations for his family.
After school, Bob went to work in a tailors. Then, as with every eligible man, Bob went into National Service, serving in the Medical Corps of The Army at Münster, Germany.
I It was after he was demobbed that he met Jean Francis Mole, and married his beloved ‘Jeanie’ on October 5th 1963 in the church of St. John The Baptist, Shoreditch.
Now living in Islington London, 1964 saw Bob & ‘Moley’ start their own family when in July, their first son Robert Paul was born. 3 years later, in May 1967, the family was completed with the arrival of Steven Peter. Along with Jean, Bob’s experiences of a loving childhood were then passed on to their own boys. There was a lot of fun around; all the family often getting together for parties and celebrations.
Bob had a great ability to turn his hand to anything. He was, in the best sense, a “Jack of all trades.” However, he was master of many of them. This, along with Jean’s pride in the house, meant that Steve & Robert always found themselves at the center of a modern, clean, & loving home, which gave the setting for very happy childhoods.
As for many families, times were hard, but Bob & Jean made sure that no one ever went without, affording Steve & Robert numerous cherished memories of their childhood; from ‘naughty’ bowls of chips in their bedroom on a Friday night watching the TV; to fun filled family gatherings at Christmas, & especially The New Year ~ being Bob’s Mum’s Birthday.

Throughout his life Bob had a number of interests: he was an accomplished artist, especially with pencil & paper, often sketching the things he loved most: his children, wife, and favorite family holiday haunts in Cornwall. He even turned his hand to creative writing, penning a thriller set in The Angel, London.
There was, of course, always the second passion of his life: Arsenal football Club! He was devoted fan, rarely missing a match, and always knew all the ins & outs of ‘his’ club.
He was so proud when; on his 80th birthday his devotion to Arsenal was immortalized by Katie & Steve sponsoring a brick, with is name on, in a wall in the then new Emirates Stadium. Katie even managed to organise a birthday card for him signed by all of ‘his’ team.
You will be pleased to know his support continues even now, as he is wearing “The Arsenal” Scarf.
Family was everything to Bob and he, with Jeanie, was overjoyed to see it grow.
Steve Married Sharon in 1988, & gave Jean & Bob a granddaughter: Katie in 1991. Living close by (now in Dagenham) Bob, & Jean very much extended the family love around Katie.
Robert married Debbie in 1989, and gave Bob 4 grandchildren: Lucy, Robbie, Sarah, & Emma.
It was the first of three great losses for Bob, when little Emma died not long after birth. Then, in 1993 Robert and Debbie immigrated to Australia, where they live now, and why, due to restrictions, devastatingly, cannot be here today.
After Jean retired from work, they decided to retreat to the country, and grabbed the chance to move to a bungalow in Ringmer. Despite their advancing years, Bob and Jean soon set about making it home.
The third, and greatest loss, came for Bob in July 2002 when he lost his beloved Jeanie, after a very brave fight with Cancer.
Bob remained in Ringmer after her death.
He continued Jean’s love for the garden, and was always happiest when Steve or Katie came to visit. In June 2017, it was a very proud moment for him to attend the wedding of his darling Katie to Stuart, up in Lancaster.
Bob & Stu became firm friends; Stu helping on a number of occasions with jobs around the bungalow which had become a little too much for Bob. Great pride and Joy came once more for Bob when, in December 2021, ‘Bibbles’ & Stu gave him his 5th great Grand Child: Eleanor Jean.

The last few years of Bob’s life were very difficult, with his health slowly declining. As for everyone, the situation was made much more difficult by the pandemic, but in true Bewley style, the family rallied round. Steve made the long journey (3 changes!) from Bedford to Ringmer most weekends, and Katie did the weekly on line Sainsbury’s shop for him.
After a number of admissions into hospital, it became obvious that Bob was unable to care for himself alone in the bungalow. He was immensely happy when the chance to move to a nursing home in Bedford, to be near Steve came up. Sadly, he was only there for 19 weeks. During that time he was often visited by Steve, and the week before he went into hospital for the last time, had a few precious hours with his Katie.
Throughout his life, his love for, & pride of his family (both near and far) and of his adored wife never failed or left him. Towards the end, he often said to his Steve: “Don’t worry son, I just want to be with Mum now.”
And so, through the love of Christ, and by his passion, we know that they are together now, in God’s love: Together for all eternity.