It is with great sadness that we share with you that on Saturday, October 26th our president, Gillian Habbin MBE sadly passed away – at the end of a long and invaluable lifetime of service – not least to Ringwood & District Community Association and Greyfriars. Gillian was a member of the Association from its start back in 1958 and became our Manager, a position which she held with dedication throughout the ensuing 26 years. Not yet tired by all she had achieved she later accepted the role of Honorary Secretary and continued to provide administrative oversight of life at Greyfriars with charm and effectiveness until ill health deprived us of her services. She remained, as our President, a source of useful memories and unceasing interest in RDCA and all that was happening at Greyfriars. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her and undoubtedly live on in the history of Greyfriars. In the New Year’s Honour Congratulations in 2011 Gillian was honoured with an MBE. It was noted that Gillian had “worked tirelessly for Ringwood all her adult life. She was a JP for 25 years, helped to see the Carnival grow to the spectacle that it is today, was still closely connected to Ringwood School and was quietly involved in many of the activities which go on in the town from the floral displays to the annual ploughing matches.
She will be missed greatly by so many.
We will send out the details of Gillian’s memorial service as soon as we know them.