Passing of a Gracious Lady

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 72, 26 March 1936, Page 10

Passing of a Gracious Lady

THE LATE MRS WEST-WATSON The nows of the death of Mrs WestWatson, wife of Right Rev. Campbell West-Watson, Bishop of Christchurch, which occurred on Saturday last, will be received with profound regret throughout Canterbury and Westland, where her charm of manner, her culture and her generosity of thought and deed had made her greatly beloved, states the Press. , Mrs West-Watson was born in Kendal, in the County of Westmorland, in 1874, the daughter of a Church of England clergyman, Rev. Henry Monsar rat. She was married to Bishop WestWatson in 1905, when he was a fellow theological lecturer of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. When her husband was elected Bishop of Christchurch she came with him and their family to Christchurch, arriving in March, 1926. Since then she had devoted herself to helping tho bishop in his diocesan duties,” and she took a prominent part in all church activities. Mrs West-Watson was greatly interested in the Mothers’ Union, of which' she was Dominion president for four years, and in tho work of St. 1 aitli s House of Sacred Learning, where women are trained for various kinds of church work. St. Saviour’s Orphanage, St. Anne’s Home, Te Waipounamu School for Maori Girls, the Girls’ Friendly Society, St. Margaret’s College, Bishop Julius Hostel, Community of the Sacred Name, all claimed her sympathy and received her enthusiastic support. She was always ready to help in the work of tho missions, and sho formed the ,society known as “Good Neighbours,” a band of women who do numberless kind deeds to tho poor and friendless, and for the foundation of that society her memory will long be cherished in Christchurch.

•Perhaps the best tribute to Mrs West-Watson’s wonderful qualities of brain, heart, and spirit is the devotion and affection she inspired in all classes in the community. Sho arrived in Christchurch nearly 10 years ago, a stranger;. to-day her death will be mourned by thousands. Sho is survived by her husband, three daughters —Mrs Stephen Lester, Mrs Leicester Webb, and Miss Alison West-Watson—and by two sons, Mr Keith West-Watson, who left a few months ago for England to complete his education, and Mr Anthony WestWatson, who is a pupil at Christ’s College.