'Gill's mother Betty would like me to tell you a little about her early days...

Gill was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia in 1959 where she ran around barefoot for 5 years, and
where her first love of gardening and her interest in wildlife began. She would follow Portifer
the gardener around, inquisitive in all things to do with nature, including poking bullfrogs
with sticks!
At nursery school, her talent at art began to show. She won prizes for paintings, one of which
merited the comment "There is wicked humour here'! This artistic gift was inherited from her
artist aunt June who is here today, and who encouraged her painting in later years.
Gill's father was transferred from Africa to Northern Ireland after Independence was declared
in 1965, so Gill's school years were spent in County Down. It was here that her love affair
with horses began and she has lived life at a gallop ever since! Her competitive spirit and
determination came to the fore in the many riding events she took part in. Pony Club camps
and games were annual highlights. Following in her father's footsteps she also represented
her school in hockey, playing "attack" of course!
The Armstrong family left Ireland for England coincidentally amidst the 70's troubles, and
having also left Rhodesia at a time of upheaval, everyone said "God help Hampshire" !
Leaving Ireland was tough for the teenager Gill, but she brought her beloved mare with her.
This mare unfortunately did not take kindly to red Hampshire buses, so riding times were
dictated by the bus schedule to avoid conflict!
RICHARD: It was when the family moved to Upper Clatford that I met Gill. Our group of
local friends had a lot of fun, including Scottish dancing parties and hilarious holidays in
Salcombe. To be in her company was never dull, always full on, and it was going to take a
very special young man to take her on!
Gill enjoyed University life at Reading where she studied English, French and History of
Art, and where she made lasting friendships. A fundraising ...and slightly hairraising parachute jump typified her adventurous spirit!
After Reading, Gill spent a year working with horses in The Cotswolds, gained a Riding
Instructors' qualification, and did a Farm Secretarial course at Sparsholt Agricultural College.
She travelled at every opportunity including visiting her parents in Nigeria, and working on a
Game Farm in Botswana. She recounted many incidents on her return including rolling a jeep
on the way to the clinic with a heavily pregnant farm worker, who unsurprisingly gave birth
early and surprisingly named the baby after Gill!
RICHARD: Soon after this, the epitome of chivalry and the perfect match came into her life.
His name was James Hussey and as we were to discover he was the ideal partner for this
wonderful person.
Peter and Betty feel lucky to have spent so much time over the years with Gill and James and
the grandchildren. James has been a wonderful son-in-law, and a fantastic husband and
father. It takes a special person to have kept up with Gill's incredible energy and enthusiasm
for life

Gill's parents are extremely proud of her achievements, and of the way she coped with a
dreadful disease.
Not only has Betty lost a lovely daughter, but also a true friend.
Sue and Claire, as Gill's younger sisters, have been privileged to have Gill as such an
incredibly positive influence in their lives. They have appreciated her kindness and
generosity to their children too, for example, patiently leading one more small niece around
the paddock, teaching them to ride. Their children have loved spending time with their
spontaneous, slightly scatty, and fun-loving aunt during the many happy Christmases and
summer holidays they have spent together.
To echo Betty, Sue and Claire have lost not only an energetic and brave sister, but a good
friend. Her inspiration lives on...
This short poem by Rose Milligan, sums up Gill's zest for life and inspires us to live life to
the full, as she certainly did.

'Dust, if you must, but wouldn't it be better

To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed,
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust, if you must, but there's not much time,

With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb,
Music to hear, and books to read,
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust, if you must, but the world's out there

With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair,
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come round again.
RICHARD: Bless you Gill, and thank you for our personal memories of you'

Intro
Courageous, Beautiful, Kind, Energetic, Enthusiastic, Charitable, Positive and Inspirational are just some of the
words frequenting the hundreds of cards, letters emails we have received since Gill passed. She was all of
those and more!
Gill the Friend
Gill is known by her friends as the life and soul of the party and one of the loveliest people you could ever
know - I think todays turnout is testament to that, on behalf of the family I would like to thank you all for
coming.
Friends speak in admiration on what a fantastic team Gill and James make, whether it be on a daily basis
working side by side on the farm or playing doubles on the Tennis court where Gill was known for her mean
forehand and fierce competitive spirit. A perfect example of their team work on display would be hosting one
of their infamous dinner parties, where Gill would spend hours buying then preparing the food followed by
James adding Salt and Pepper and giving it a quick stir just everyone turns up, cheekily taking the plaudits for a
delicious meal.
Gill was hugely talented artist, she had natural affinity for painting beautiful landscapes and wildlife as well as
incredible doodles which adorned back of envelopes, invoices, papers; well generally anything within reach
whilst she was on the phone or sat having a cup of tea.
Some of you may not know that Gill actually won an award for her art.. Her AGA art that is... her masterpiece
rd
entitled 48 hour roasted sausages claimed 3 prize at a recent Village Fete.
A huge passion of Gills life were Countryside Pursuits Shooting and Hunting were two in particular she
adored - On the Hunting Field she was fearless - no hedge too high, no ditch to wide, a cold crisp morning on
the downs galloping on Murphy was her idea of perfection! On the days Gill wasnt hunting she would happily
take up her role as Matriarch of the shoot at Weir Farm. The silhouette of her being dragged across the top of
the Ridgeway by coco madly waving a flag and her love of woodcock, will never be forgotten.
Gill was also famous for her shoot soups. These one off creations conjured out of the depths of the Hussey
fridge always generated rapturous praise, however the recipes were kept a closely guarded secret, until now. I
can reveal now that the best soup in recent memory and indeed I quote one of the guns the best soup I have
ever tasted in my life contained a gallon of gooseberry fool accidentally put into the soup mistaking it for
chicken stock.
Gill the Farmer
Gill made no secret of the fact that she was a Farmer rather than a Farmers wife and got very cross if the
rd
two were ever confused! Her passion and thirst for knowledge last year even saw her become the 3 member
of the family to study at the Royal Agricultural College after Julia and I. She loved learning about new farming
techniques, conservation and environmental initiatives and was ever present at the weekly farm walks, even
going on a recent college trip up to Yorkshire for 3 days where they seemed to spend the majority of the time
in the pub.
This summer I had just got back from a day working in London one and drove into the farm yard to see how
harvest was going only to see Gill whizzing into the yard with a smile you could see from 100 yards. She leapt
out of the cab exclaiming this has been the best day of my life! I have been corn carting all day and James let
me use the big John Deere
This unrelenting love for farming and the countryside made her the perfect Candidate to join the board of the
Marlborough downs Nature Improvement Area or the NIA for short One of 12 national schemes and the
only Farmer lead initiative bringing together a total of 42 farmers. Gills natural community spirit made her
the fulcrum of the programme and was pivotal to its success. Her efforts were recognised recently as she was
awarded Countryside Champion Award for her outstanding commitment to the scheme.

Gill the Traveller

You get a good yardstick of Gill and Jamess life over the last 32years when it is recalled chronologically by
Holidays rather than dates. They have truly travelled to all 4 corners of the globe, America, Canada, New
Zealand, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Oman, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda,

South Africa, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Turks and Caicos, The Grenadines, St Lucia, Barbados as well as
most of Europe to name just a few.
Having been on a number of Hussey family holidays I can tell you that their version of R&R is very different to
99% of the population. From mountain biking down Death Road in Bolivia, Swimming with Whale Sharks off
the coast of Mozambique, Climbing active Volcanos in Sicily even escaping from a pride of Lions on Horseback
in Botswana, there is never a dull moment.
Only 4 weeks ago they had just returned from a memorable trip to South Africa to support Giles on a tennis
tour and visit Gill's sister They had planned to have a quiet week of recharging by the pool. Within four hours
of landing they had booked onto a safari tour, we visited two wineries, walked along a beach played with
penguins and took a boat trip around the bay. As it turned out, the only reading they did was on the plane
home.
Gill the Mother/Wife
Gill as a mother was always seen as the cool one... Whether it was organising the Pony Club camps, Dropping
a horsebox full of rowdy teenagers off at a festival or even giving my friends a load of grief out shooting only a
few Saturdays ago every time they missed a bird.
To her children Gill was their number one fan. Loyally and doggedly supporting all of their endeavours
wherever that may take her. She was always the first to sprint to the finish of a cross country to congratulate
Julia completing a clear round, She would jump on a plane at the drop of a hat to go an visit Georgia on her
travels out in Belize, even if that meant missing her cirencester exams and She was always the loudest person
in the crowd shouting come on Gilo during one of Giles tennis matches.
It goes without saying that she was a fantastic mother, and she has given them the best gift possible in
imparting some of her personal traits onto them - her steely determination, drive to succeed and a confidence
to follow their dreams which ever direction that may lead them. I know they are all eternally grateful to have
had her in their lives for as long as they have done, and will all continue with their lives in the way that mum
would

Gill the person

Summarising who Gill is as a person is a daunting task. Life gave her Lemons, and she made lemonade and
added a large dash of pimms.
When asked in a restaurant whether she would like cream, ice cream or custard with either of her two deserts
she ordered she would calmly reply all three on both as if it was the most normal, logical thing in the world.
This is how Gill lived her life, to the full and then more, making the most out of every opportunity.
Gills legacy will live on not only through her 3 beautiful children, but also through her story. She was first
diagnosed with Breast Cancer in June 2001 and was given 2 years to live. We are stood here now 13 and a half
irreplaceable years later celebrating someone who was loved and admired by all.
Doctors in Great Western hospital have now changed their advice to patients suffering from cancer from go
home and rest to go and get out there and live life!
The Wednesday before she passed away she debating whether to go to London or not with James due to
feeling a bit under the weather and apprehensive about Chemotherapy the following morning. After a brief
internal debate she announced Stuff it... I am going to and have fun
st
Enjoy it they did, travelling 1 class on the train they visiting the poppies at the tower of london, before getting
a boat down the Thames to have Cocktails and Sushi then watching a show. Arriving back at Swindon train
station just after midnight, James showed his age and keen to go home and go to bed where as Gill wanted to
go out partying.
Gill would never wanted to cause a fuss she would always say Im fine even to the last Chemo session on
Thursday she told everyone that she was going for a spa day, to avoid any unwanted pity

She exuded the finest values and she was an inspiration in life
Poem - Shes achieved success R. L. Stevenson
She has achieved success who has lived well,
laughed often, and loved much;
who has gained the respect of intelligent men
and the love of little children;
who has filled a niche and accomplished a task,
who has left the world better than she found it,
whether by an improved poppy,
a perfect poem,
or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of earths beauties,
nor failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best in others and given the best she had;
whose life is an inspiration;
whose memory a benediction.

Sermon for the celebration of Gill Husseys life

6th December 14 Broad Hinton Church Psalm 121

May I speak in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Today, weve come to celebrate and to give thanks for Gills life; for the
privilege of having known her and for having shared in her life. Weve heard
what a truly remarkable person she was and still is; and you are here, as
members of her family and friends, to represent the many people who have
known her and who will continue to love her.
Were here to remember all she has meant to us in the past; and for all that she
will go on meaning in the future. As time passes you will remember the things
she said, her friendship, the moments in your lives when she touched your
hearts, her wonderful sense of fun, and her thoughtfulness. We gather together
today in our grief, to share our thoughts and memories and to show solidarity
with James, Julia, Georgia and Giles; alongside all of Gills family.
When those we love, leave us, it is painful and we mourn our loss. No words
are ever enough to capture the depth and breadth of the life of someone we love.
However, as we planned this service, it was as if Gill was calling the shots, she
helped us find the words. Her wishes were uppermost in our minds and as
weve heard, the readings and poems have each added an essence of the Gill
weve known so well.
Weve heard much about the life that Gill showed to all her family and friends,
but there was more. Gill was also making her own more difficult journey, facing
the ups and downs of her path through and around cancer; and this is a part of

Gills life that she held closely to her, never wanting to be a burden to others.
Gill was diagnosed with terminal cancer on 3rd June 2001, thirteen years ago;
but she was a determined person & lived life very much on her own terms,
defying the cancer & medical science, until the day she died.
Cancer is such an indiscriminate disease, often picking the best people at
random. Gill and James lives turned into a roller coaster - hospitals and
machines - so many emotions, bringing turmoil to their lives. Dreams
and expectations had to be revised; but Gill had her own unique way of dealing
with the challenges brought upon her - wanting no sympathy, and not wanting
to be identified by her illness.
Most people would do less and live more carefully; but Gills life moved up
another gear including her energy for life, her desire to travel and her love of
everybody around her; love which concentrated on James and their three
beautiful children. Gill so wanted to see Julia, Georgia and Giles grow and
expand into life and love. Recently it was her great pride to see them
blossoming in their own arenas. And any difficulties along the road only
strengthened this resolve - a trait that James particularly loved in Gill all
through their lives together.
Her diagnosis never changed her astounding ability to throw herself into
everything she did the crazier the better; and Gill and James felt that they took
on death together. On a trip to Bolivia, Gill heard of a bike ride the worlds
most dangerous road, with a sheer cliff and stony track along the majority of it.
Death road? She thought, Thats nothing - I can take that on! And so they
did it - 80km starting at the snowline on the equator and finishing in tropical
jungle.
Gill found a way to confound medical science, ignore it and turn it on its head.
In the years before her death the cancer had spread throughout her body &
replaced most of her bones; but Gill rarely took anything stronger than
Paracetemol & lived an extraordinarily active life. She was a walking miracle
and an inspiration to those with cancer and to all the rest of us. She will
continue to be a miracle.
However, as the poem Ive just read mentioned, you dont go through this
journey of life - and Gills illness - without some pain and anguish. Words cant
express the pain one feels when you have to watch the person you love suffer.
However, over the years, Gill and James found a way of sharing some of this
pain and this brought them closer together. Gills pain was worse at night, and
to help her, James would lay his hands on her, trying to absorb some of her pain
himself. It seemed to work. In 32 years they barely spent 5 weeks apart, and

missed each other when they did. She brought an unquantifiable amount of joy
and adventure into everyones life.
Alongside this, again hidden from most others, Gill was making her own
spiritual journey.
I remember a time several years ago when we were sailing around the Isle
of Wight. As we left others to act as crew, Gill and I spent much of the
trip discussing her belief that she only had about a year to live, her love
for her family and the pain of leaving them; and the comfort she gained
through prayer. She wasnt at all sure that God was really there, but
several times since then shes reminded me to continue praying and has
sought solace in the idea of a God who was travelling alongside her.
When others watched the horses at Barbury horse trials, she would seek
me out and we would discuss her questions about God.
Earlier this year, she turned up with a pot of marmalade and wanted to
mull over it all again. For her, God was in creation, in the wonders of the
world all around us. Gill loved the countryside, the open air and the
Marlborough Downs; and they are to become her final resting place.
While today is a day of sadness, we can also take comfort in the Christian belief
that
death is not the end; that its not final and doesnt separate us forever from those
we love.
Our Christian faith offers us the hope that although death comes to us all, life
will be changed but not taken away when we die. Christianity focusses on the
resurrection of Jesus as the grounds for believing and trusting in a God who is
able to triumph over death.
So Gill had a questioning but growing faith. She believed that prayer can offer
comfort and strength, until at last we see God and our loved ones face to face.
Today we give thanks for Gills life, a life well-lived. Her legacy to us all is to
live life to the full; to follow the example she set us and to appreciate life and
the earths beauty. We need to offer warm friendship, to see the best in others,
to love our families with all our hearts, to give the best that we can; and as if
this isnt almost possible, to show courage in times of adversity. Gill was truly
inspirational.
May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds safe in Christ Jesus, our risen Lord
Amen
Psalm 121 New Celtic Translation from The Ancient Gaelic Annals of Leinster

A song for pilgrims

I look up to the hills above my dwelling place:
does my help come from there?
My help comes from the LORD, who made This HILL this heaven and earth to me!
I say to my doubting self
He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not doze and dream when you need him
4
Indeed, he who watches over the flock
never falls asleep as we who are human do.
The LORD himself watches over you!
The LORD stands beside you , and casts a shadow of protectiveness around and about you
and within it you stand.
Then know that the fierce heat of the draining sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon steal your farsighted glimpse of Gods own earthly glories in your darkest
night.
From all that would harm your shining soul, he will keep you
and watches over all whom you love.
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever
I thank thee, God, that I have lived
In this great world and known its many joys;
The song of birds, the strong, sweet scent of hay
And cooling breezes in the secret dusk;
The flaming sunsets at the close of day,
Hills, and the lonely, heather-covered moors;
Music at night and moonlight on the sea,
The beat of waves upon the rocky shore,
And wild, white spray, flung high in ecstasy:
The faithful eyes of dogs, and treasured books;
The love of kin and fellowship of friends,
And all that makes life beautiful.
I thank thee, too, that there has come to me
A little sorrow and sometimes defeat,
A little heart-ache and loneliness
That comes with parting, and the word Good-bye;
Dawn breaking after dreary hours of pain,
When I discovered that nights gloom must yield
And morning light break through to me again.
Because of these and other blessings poured
Unasked upon my wondering head,
Because I know that there is yet to come
An even richer and more glorious life,
And most of all, because thine only son
Once sacrificed lifes loveliness for me
I thank thee, God, that I have lived.
Elizabeth Craven

Letter from Mark Hill

Dear James,
There is a saying that people forget what you say, and invariably what you do, but they never
forget how you make them feel. Gill IS one of those - is because that feeling lives on in the
lives of all those she touched.
Gill was so courageous, so full of life and so loved. Most of us hearing the 'C' diagnosis
would submit, at least a little, but Gill was not prepared to be beaten and not only 'carried on'
but stepped up her activity and with amazing willpower defended her body from the
onslaught, never surrendered and fought on until she ran out of ammunition - on Saturday.
But as last stands go, this is what we would all wish for; not much time to think about it, no
suffering and maintained dignity to the end, dying in the embrace, physical and spiritual, of
her family.
And what a family - she must have found contentment and inner peace knowing a big part of
her was in Julia, Georgia and Giles and their future happiness secure. And for them huge
pride, inspiration and resilience from their mother's example.
And you James, grief, huge grief of course, you were so good together, but try and let the joy,
fulfilment and love you shared triumph...
Big hug and much love
Mark