Béatrice Rey (16 Jul 1969 - 11 Jan 2018)

In loving memory of Béatrice Rey who sadly passed away on 11th January 2018

Béatrice made an impression on everyone – Dynamic – Feisty – Full of life – Sparkle – Energy – Lovable – Kind – Bubbly – Sunny – Open Hearted – Hugging – Chatty – Talking fast! – If she was in the room, you knew it!

Early Life:

Solange – Jacques Rey, Cathy (1967) and Béa (1969). Maisons-Laffitte, France’s equivelent of Newmarket. Stables. Successful horse racing. The glamour, fast life and thrill with celebrity status. Jacques abandoned the marriage when Béa was no more than a toddler and some years later passed away. Béa described him as a lovely man, but he had no understanding of his responsibility as a father.

Solange returns with Cathy and Béa to her home town of Bellerive-sur-Allier, near the spa town of Vichy, in Auvergne – Back in the family fold with Grandfather “Papy”, aunt Marie-Claud and uncle Michel and the bonus of similar aged cousins, Cathy and Béa enjoy a happy childhood.

Béa adored her Papy – Papy was probably the most influential person in Béa’s life. He presented himself as an austere person to the children, but they all knew where he hid the chocolate bars. “No more than one each!” he would shout. Papy came from the mountains and he loved the mountain life with its scenery, trees and snow; he loved the snow! When it snowed, he would make a snowball and hurl it at the children, then deny it. One of Papy’s traits that Béa used to marvel at was his ability to take well over an hour to go to the tabacco shop. He would stop and chat to everyone he met on the way, and if they were still there on the way back he would stop and chat again! Well, who does that remind us of?

Béa often mentioned her Catholic schooling, especially the fun she had concealing her mischief from the “Penguins”. During the long school holidays Solange needed to continue earning a wage, so Cathy and Béa would be packed off to summer camps. There would be tears from Cathy when she had to leave for camp, but Béa would only have tears when all the fun stopped and she had to go home.

Gymnastics – played a significant part of Béa’s life. She was introduced to the sport as a way of healthily burning off excess child energy. She thoroughly enjoyed the daily training and achieved a praiseworthy regional standard. In her later teens, she became coach for the youngsters. Gymnastics became a family theme; Cathy and her husband Marc and their son-in-law Ludo are all coaching to this day and even Solange contributes by making the costumes for the young gymnasts.

Cathy and Marc have daughters Auréllie and Laurianne – who are both worshiped by Béa. Béa is Godmother to Auréllie.

Solange found a good man – Roger (pronounced “Roget”) in 1981. Béa would have been 12 years old. He was a dependable and stable partner for Solange for 26 years before passing on in 2007. A lovely man who took good care of his adopted family.

Béa went to University and attained her Baccalaureate. But as soon as she reached 21 she set off to see the world and talk to every one!

Quest for adventure:

Au pair - Béa wanted to travel. In 1990 Béa came to High Wycombe, Knaphill as an au pair. She quickly made lots of British friends. Unfortunately the au pair placement was not ideal so Béa found local employment and managed to stay in the UK.
Ron – She met Ron, a nice guy. He offered an exciting lifestyle with motorbike rides and rallies. Béa loved the fun, the parties and dancing.
Special Friends, Monica and Ingrid. The three of them worked together in 1995 Using their language skills, and a lot of charm, they gathered customer data for their High Wycombe based company Data Quest. They became good friends.

Dennis:

Béa and Dennis got together in 2005. There was a special sparkle that ignited their love for each other. They very soon became engaged to be married; Béa still has her wedding dress and her special friends Monica and Ingrid still have their bridesmaid dresses. However, a series of events occurred that deferred the wedding until a more appropriate time. This was their biggest regret.

Rabbit – Dennis met the French family for the first time in 2006. Cathy and Solange came to collect Den and Béa from the airport at St Etienne. The language barrier did not deter Solange who came equipped with a small hand held translation gadget. She felt the need to explain to Dennis that Béa was a “wild child”, but the gadget let her down and her first words to Dennis were “Béatrice – Rabbit”! While the two sisters rolled about laughing, Dennis didn’t know which way to look.

Home and Holidays – Dennis left the RAF to settle in St Ives with Béa. They bought a house and turned it into a home. They enjoyed the garden and long country walks in the Cambridgeshire area. They enjoyed frequent holidays; in France with the family, skiing in the Alps, cycling in Holland and swimming in Oman. Life was good.

Terminal illness:

Try to imagine the impact of being informed that you have an incurable disease and just one year to live. “Exceptionally five years” was added almost as an afterthought to soften the blow. This happened to Béa in September 2014.

It was a subject that Dennis and Béa found difficult to comprehend. But it was important to get it out into the open and talk about it, so in true Den and Béa style the brain tumour became “Brian the Tuna” and Béa took on a “Kick Arse” attitude toward the fight. 2015 was a tough year of Chemo and Radiotherapy. Hair loss and steroid induced weight gain and a moon face. “We can’t get married until I fit that dress!”

The therapies had good effect in holding Brian at bay. 2016 was a good year! Den and Béa travelled to Tromsø in the arctic circle to see the Northern Lights. They went skiing in Austria. Then they had a fantastic 5-star holiday in Alberta Canada touring through Jasper and Banff National Parks.

However, Brian came back in September 2016 and Béa didn’t stand a chance. She passed away peacefully in the Sue Ryder Hospice at 08:32 on 11th January 2018. Dennis was with her, holding her hand, when she simply stopped breathing. Solange and Cathy came from France and managed to be with her in her last few days.