Lionel Waite

Lionel relaxing





















Lionel at the Sandhurst
Donkey Derby in his young days

On Monday evening I was sorry to hear of the death of Lionel Waite age 89. On behalf of the Parish I want to give our heartfelt condolences to Lionel’s family at this time. A family he loved dearly. I also want to say thank you for the life of Lionel and how thankful we are as a parish community for all he has done for not only our parish but also for the larger community of Crowthorne and Sandhurst. Lionel has been a great servant to us all.

Lionel along with a few others in the early years was instrumental in building a good solid catholic community. A community that had no Church in Sandhurst and only a tin hut in Crowthorne. Now we have two lovely Churches because of all the fund raising that went on in the early formation of the parish. Lionel with the help of others started in the sixties, what was to be the biggest fund raising event not only for our parish but also for the community in Sandhurst, the Sandhurst Donkey Derby. This year was the fortieth anniversary of its beginning and it was so good to have Lionel there to soak in the day and to give him a special thank you for all the work and effort he had put into it over the years.

When Addie his wife died last year Lionel was very brave but one could sense that part of him had gone with her. After Addie died Lionel would come to the six O’clock Mass at Sandhurst brought there by Shane. I would go and speak and ask him how he was and he would always say ‘I’m still here’. Eventual I turned it round so that when I saw him I would say, ‘You’re still here then’ and he would laugh. I’m sure Lionel was only waiting for the day when the Lord would call him to himself. That day has come, as it will with all of us. I know that Lionel will be greatly missed by his family and all his friends in the parish and in the community. We are grateful to the Lord for giving us a wonderful servant and example of Christian love and Charity. As Christians we are sure that he and Addie are back together again in the heavenly Kingdom of God.

One last thought. I remember saying about a small man I knew that he was a small man trying to be big. With Lionel he was a big man who was small only in size. Fr Kevin