Please, is there going to be a Memorial Service for Penny in the UK? I understand that there is going to be one in the South of France, but not many of us can get there. It would be very much appreciated by a lot of people if there was a service here.

Thank you
- Rosemary E Lunn

[Decodiver]

I would appreciate details of the French memorial service if anyone has them please.

Dave.

mi volevo unire alle condoglianze verso i famigliari e verso tutti coloro che hanno avuto il piacere di conoscere personalmente Penny,una donna speciale,dall'apparenza rude ma molto dolce insomma la classica persona che ti lascia un buco quando non è più presente,non ti dimenticheremo. Fabio

Bad news that we must hear that Penny and Jacques are leaving us. Condoleance for family and friends from them.

Ron van Es (Divingcentre The Wave)

[Janwillem Bech]

It was a big shock to me hearing this sad news.
I had the opportunity to dive with her both in the UK and France.
I believe this is a big loss for the rebreather community in europe if not for the world.
Penny we will miss you!
I wish your family and Jacques family all strength!

Janwillem Bech
http://www.therebreathersite.nl

I have just heard that the bodies of Penny and Jacques have been recovered.

While this is does nothing to diminish the anguish of all who new Penny and Jacques, are thoughts and prayers go out to their families at this time.

I was extremely fortunate to know Penny and indeed Penny took me on my very first open water dive. While learning to dive, I had many superb instructors of which I'm proud to say Penny was one. She contributed so much to the training as a member of our club in Holland and left us with so many happy memories. Whether it was pool sessions, classroom lessons, BSAC courses, open water or just in a bar, she had an amazing ability to share knowledge and encourage others. Her enthusiasm, skills and energy both in and out of the water will always be missed.

my best wishes to all who knew Penny and Jacques

Bryan T

[Stellio]

Dear Penny,

It’s with a very heavy heart that I say goodbye to you.

Yesterday I got the confirmation that I have lost my Boss, my friend, my sister.

This 5 years to work with you will stay forever in my mind and my heart
You are the One who at the end of my Internship gave me a job opportunity in your team.

Few months ago when I told you that I had to leave my job for personal reasons, you proposed to me immediately to come to work with you again.

You are the best Manager that any employee dreams to have for Boss.

I will still remember each time you came in my office to ask my help to send a message in French to your French diver’s friend, or to help you to debug your Rebreather simulation software on your computer.
Since you move in the south of France, your French improved a lot and you didn’t need my help anymore.

I remember also how happy you were during the ballroom dancing courses every Monday in Betzdorf. I remember also our long discussions when we moved by car from Luxembourg to Noordwijk.

Unfortunately, we never get the chance to dive together in the blue water around my small island in the Indian Ocean.

Your heavy laugh and your happiness will miss us during our business trips.

May you and Jacques Filippi forever rest in peace!
My deepest condolences to you and Jacques’ family and to your other close friends, who like myself, will miss “our girl” forever…

Sweet dreams, dear sister.

Stellio.

[thierryles]

This is not strictly a diving related message and we are grateful to Rebreather World to give us the space and opportunity to convey our feelings of sadness after the loss of our very close friend.

A year ago, Penny was my wife's witness at our wedding in Scotland. They had known each other since Bradford University in 1983 where they started diving together and had remained very united although leading quite different lifestyles these days. In the midst of wedding festivities, she drove from Cupar to Aberdeen just to dive with Royal Navy friends and returned in the evening to continue partying with us. This was typically Penny who would never hesitate to travel several hundred miles over a very short periods of time just to see friends while finding the opportunity to test new equipment at the same time. As Robert Feierbach quotes in an earlier forum message, she did occasionally fall asleep during late evenings because she had done so much in one day but she would then wake up at five in morning to finish a satellite or diving linked presentation on her laptop.

Penny was a regular visitor at our home in Meudon and it was always such a pleasure to see her and to have those long existential talks that she used to instigate obviously expecting decent feedback. We skied regularly together and also went diving in the Galapagos where she once gave me oxygen and such memorable friendly telling off after I had inadvertently ran out of air and surfaced.

Recently, her life was almost entirely dedicated to rebreathers and trimix had become a genuine passion which she would talk about at length to anyone with contagious enthusiasm. The Var seemed an ideal region for her to elaborate her passion and satisfy her need of sunshine. We were looking forward to see her more frequently and had plans to visit soon. Although she had reached such a high level in diving, she had remained humble and would never dream of boasting about her diving qualifications or her growing reputation in diving circles. She was also intelligent and open-minded enough to adapt very easily to non divers with whom she would communicate naturally on all sorts of subjects. In our case, quite regularly over a few glasses of the Luxembourg Champagne that she brought with her but that in later years she would never abuse being well aware of her responsibilities as a top level instructor.

Her friendly hugs will be sorely missed and her hearty laugh echoes in our ears.

Our sincere condolences to both Penny and Jacques' families.

Lesley and Thierry

[Decodiver]

Dear All,

Please see the below email that I received from Penny's sister Fiona, concerning her and Jacques funeral as well as the memorial service and party to celebrate their lives.

Dear Everyone

Just to confirm

Penny’s cremation is taking place on Friday 20th January 2006 at 1130 hours. The address given is Chapelle Crematorium Cuers, 83390, Cuers. This is apparently only half an hour drive from Hyeres although the distance seems to change according to who is telling the story (or perhaps driving). We will be allowed to pick up the ashes at 2 pm and hope to take a boat out from La Londe les Maures at 3.30 pm to scatter the ashes, weather permitting. (Laurent – this is slightly different from the version I gave you earlier today – but I hadn’t then received the fax which changed the story a little). Jacques’ service is the same place but at 5.30 pm on Friday 13th January

The memorial service in England on Friday 7th April at Toft Monks Church in the village of Toft Monks, Norfolk (close to the Norfolk, Suffolk border not far from Lowestoft or Great Yarmouth). This will take place about 11.30 or 12 noon and we will then go on to a farm called the Elms about 2 miles away.

The event to celebrate both Penny and Jacques’ lives will be a sort of beach party on Saturday 3rd June. It will be very informal and hopefully we will begin to congregate from about 3 o’clock onwards and go on into the evening. This will be on the beach at La Londes les Maures (near Toulon airport)

If you could pass this information on to anyone you think might be interested then I would be most grateful.

Any of Penny’s friends are welcome to come to any or all of these days and it would be lovely to see you but it really is not a test of friendship. It would be good to get some idea of numbers particularly for the April and June occasions to help with catering. Perhaps anyone who wants to come could give me a call or email me (+ 44 1986 875683 or fiona.denny@educ.suffolkcc.gov.uk ). I can then create a distribution list and send out more information nearer the time.

All the best and look forward to putting some faces to names over the next few months.

Fiona


I will be at the funeral on Friday, may I just ask you all to pray to whatever God you worship for Penny, Jacques and especially their respective families.

Thankyou,

Dave Cooper.

[Janwillem Bech]

I hope you will have many friends there...
Still feeling very sad ..

Janwillem