Remembering Rose Marie

Rose Marie Morris was a long-time member of St John’s Church. She is not known to many of us who joined the church recently, as she left a few years ago, so we share some memories of her connections with St John's from those who knew her.

At the memorial service at St John’s on the 9th April, her good friend Bernice told the story of her coming to St John’s.

“Today in this place marks the most significant time of her life. In the mid-80’s, I think it was 1986, Rose Marie came here to a service where Jackie Pullinger was speaking. It was at this meeting that Rose Marie encountered the Lord Jesus Christ and gave her life to him.

Shortly afterwards, Dick also came to living faith in the Lord Jesus and together they faithfully served him in this church for many, many years - Dick on the Parish Council and Rose Marie counting the church offering every week. It is doubly special today that our dear Allan (Smith) is here taking the service as he was the Minister during that time and therefore such a good friend of Rose Marie’s. They always kept in touch throughout the years and Allan faithfully visited her during her recent sickness. Thank you Allan, the circle is complete. Through good times and bad Rose Marie kept her faith in the Lord strong. We used to have little sayings - one of them was 'Pressing on' and ‘safe in the sheep pen' (referring to Jesus the Good Shepherd)”.

David Wardle sent a contribution from the cell group of which she was a member for nearly 30 years: "A native of Leicestershire (as we were never allowed to forget), Rose Marie Morris (with her husband, Dick) came to St John’s in the 1980s after several years in the then Transvaal. Rose Marie would speak of a near death experience in the then South West Africa which made her promise to commit her life to the Lord Jesus but she actually came to a living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ after hearing Jackie Pullinger preach at St John’s and grew under the ministry of Allan Smith. She always looked back to with great thankfulness and joy at the transformation that took place in her life. She played an active role in St John’s for nearly forty years until ill health made her physical presence difficult: she served as a scripture-reader who was always well prepared, led prayers thoughtfully and for years was the St John’s representative on the Parish Profile and at the Women’s World Day of Prayer.

From the mid-1990s she was a member of our cell group/bible study group in which she would regularly ask awkward questions of us and of herself, as she always wanted to understand better. One of her passions was creative writing and Rose Marie readily used her imagination to bring Bible stories alive, looking at the familiar from different perspectives. Other passions of hers were Israel, which she had visited and for which she prayed with fervour, and the Wynberg Police. From the onset of COVID our group met on Zoom weekly and most Thursdays, she would join us."

Joyce Horne remembers counting and banking the collections with Rose Marie. “I had the honour and privilege to work with her in this. A true lady of warmth and integrity.  I will dearly miss her.” Her last communication to Joyce was on the 27th March, when she left hospital to go to nursing care in Rondebosch.

Eileen Kruger recalls a dear friend who always encouraged her when I was down and prayed for her and her husband. “When we had a fire at our garage & house, she was one of the people who was very generous to us. We also went to live shows at the Baxter for Morning Melodies. I will really miss her and am much richer in my walk with the Lord for knowing her. We had great times at my house when we met as a cell group.”

Anne Lawton reminisced about Dick and Rose Marie coming as a couple to St John’s, being willing to be involved wherever they could. “Dick was a strong member of the choir, Rose Marie was tone deaf but we remember her singing one particular time in perfect tune when worshipping in tongues, I remember them running a British stall in the Hall (when different groups represented different countries). Rose Marie wore a tiara/crown. She was always very simply & elegantly dressed. She led the prayers at the 9.30 service frequently and would sleep with a notebook & pen beside her bed so that she could record prompts from the Lord. She shared her concerns about her & Dick's children with us and also included us in prayers for her siblings in the UK. This résumé does not really do justice to the special person of Rosemary, but I do know that those who knew her will really miss her being here with us.”

Mary Jean Thomas-Johnson adds that Rose Marie was very family oriented. "She often talked about the visits of her family from overseas. The highlight I remember was the birth of Victoria's daughter, Sage. She brought much joy. She always asked for continuing prayer for her family, especially in difficult times."