Service

Welcome

Good afternoon, may I begin by offering you all a very warm welcome, and thank you for your presence today for our service honouring Kerry's memory, and to celebrate her beautiful life. On behalf of all Kerry's family, I would like to pass on their sincere thanks for the outpouring of tributes, messages and cards of condolence and for the help and support they have received – it has been of immense comfort to them to have been surrounded by your love and kindness at this difficult time.

Today, as loved ones and friends, we pay tribute to Kerry, who was the kind of person that made life brighter for everyone around her - she was selfless, endlessly kind, and was generous with her time, energy and heart. If she could help anyone out that needed it – she would be there without hesitation, and it wasn't just people whose lives she made a difference too, but also animals who benefitted from her conservation work and tireless support for animal welfare, and made a difference to the creatures and environment she cared so deeply about. Kerry was bubbly, full of life, and very friendly, and her personality was as warm as it was vibrant. The sort of person you couldn't help but be drawn to. She was hard-working and gave her all to make a success of every task or job she did, and took pride in everything she did, or was a part of. Her smile, her humour, and her natural ability to put others at ease made her a joy to be around. She brought lightness into even the simplest moments, and her enthusiasm for life was infectious.

She was also incredibly hardworking, approaching every task with determination and pride. Whether it was a job, a project, or helping others, Kerry gave it her all. She believed in doing things properly, and she took genuine pride in everything she contributed to. Her dedication, reliability, and strong work ethic earned her the respect of everyone who had the privilege of working alongside her.

As we share memories and stories, we are given this chance to express our love, gratitude and appreciation for all Kerry was, and all that she gave so freely to the people around her - Kerry was a much loved daughter and sister, and the bond she shared with her family was deeply meaningful. Together, they created a lifetime of shared memories, moments filled with laughter, warmth, and the comforting sense of belonging that only family can give. Kerry's dad Phil says that after Kerry moved to the UK, she stayed with him, her step-mum Kate and half-brothers Kit, Rob, Jack and Guy for around 18mths in Sevenoaks, Kent. Here, she took a small step into the working world when she worked as a very popular server in the Tesco café. Jack was exceptionally keen at sailing, and he recruited novice Kerry to be his crew sailing a Graduate dinghy in a highly competitive race on nearby Chipstead Lake. This unlikely partnership promptly won the Novices cup, and they went on to become regulars at the front of the Graduate fleet, beating many experienced sailors – including Philip himself. On family holidays to Bude, in Cornwall, Kerry and Jack learnt to windsurf, and became quite proficient at it. Kerry brought joy into every gathering, and in return she was surrounded by a love that shaped and supported her throughout her life.

Kerry was also the devoted wife of Steve, and their relationship stood as a beautiful example of what true partnership can be. Their marriage was built on deep affection, mutual respect, and a quiet but powerful commitment to one another. They balanced each other perfectly — the yin to the other's yang — and their happiness together was evident to everyone who knew them. It's been said that in their 24 years together they never once had an argument; perhaps a few playful "Mexican stand offs," but never anything more. That alone speaks volumes about the harmony, understanding, and genuine friendship at the heart of their life together.

As a friend, Kerry was fiercely loyal who wholeheartedly invested in the people she cared about. She treasured the friendships she made over the years, each one unique and special in its own way. Kerry had a remarkable ability to make others feel valued, supported, and truly seen. Her friends brought joy, laughter, and companionship into her life — and she gave all of that back in equal measure. The bonds she formed were deep and lasting, and her presence enriched the lives of everyone fortunate enough to call her a friend.

So, as we move through our service, let us smile through our tears and celebrate a truly extraordinary lady.

Memories of Kerry – From Andrea

I would like to invite Kerry's sister Andrea to share with us her memories.

When I came to think of what I wanted to write today, I came to think of my sister Kerry and how her life was shaped by two places she called home. She was born here in the UK, but grew up under the wide Australian skies and while not everyone who loved her in Australia can be here with us today, she was just as deeply loved by her family and friends there as she was here.

On behalf of my sister Zoe

I have been a doctor for 25 years. During that time I have witnessed hundreds of patients, their families and friends, thrown into the darkest times with unexpected diagnoses of cancer, or serious accidents that happened out of the blue. Horrible medical situations. And time and time again, I have marvelled at the strength of patients and their support networks.

Never in a million years did I suspect that the bravest, most inspiring patient that I was to meet, would be my very own sister. Little curly haired Kez, who I once tricked into eating a guinea pig poo by pretending it was a sultana! In true Kerry fashion she got her own back by biting a chunk of skin out of my arm a few minutes later (to be fair she was only about 4 years old at the time).

Brave and loyal Kerry, who over the years won and lost countless games of Boggle, African Star, Go Fish and any other board game we could get our hands on. Competitive right to the end, she kept trying to beat Andrea and I at the on-line game of Wordle…even from her hospice bed!

Although I am not here at Kerry's funeral, I have been privileged to spend time in Wales with many of you over the past year. The love, kindness and resilience that has surrounded Kerry is quite frankly almost unbelievable. I consider myself so fortunate to see the light of my sister resonating in her many, many friends, family and also in the beautiful countryside where she lived.

I am so, so sad that my beautiful sister has passed away. But we are all so fortunate to have been brought together and touched by her magic. We are all going to miss her so much.

Memories of a lifetime

I am barely old enough to remember and yet I do. I'm watching the black dog toy on your bed and I want it more than anything. I know the answer before I ask, but I ask anyway, "Can I have Pound Puppy?" To my utter shock you let me have him, not just to play with but to keep. He fast becomes my favourite toy. I put a lead on and drag him round the house for weeks. He becomes the toy I travel the world with, the one I pulled out for this trip. The embodiment of sisterly love.

Now I am a little older —but not quite wise to your tricks yet. Somehow, you convince me there's chocolate hidden in the cupboard. I believe you completely… until I hear you and Zoe outside, laughing and eating it yourselves while I'm stuck inside.

You don't let me suffer too long before you let me in on the joke, there never was any chocolate. It was the beginning of many jokes to come. And don't worry—I made sure to get a few back on you over the years

Now you are old enough for boarding school. I'm waving goodbye at the Burnie Airport. Both you and Zoe are leaving. I don't want you to go. I cry all the way home because I miss you. It was hard to say goodbye then but it is harder now.

I am well into primary school now. You are living back at home while you are away from uni and it is the best. I love when you pick me up from school in the old Magna and we get a curly wurly. Our days are spent with me at school and you off building penguin burrows and saving whales. If only saving you had been possible.

You move away to England not long after that, a gap year or perhaps a bit longer…

I'm older now and when I come to visit Steve cooks and you both take me to the pub. Fudge arrives, though we all know one dog will never be enough. Those trips are happy memories for me, filled with laughter and good food and even better company.

Then it all changed, I remember we dropped it all when we heard and when I arrived you were skin and bones; not my sister who had just run Snowden. I didn't think you had long but you showed them Kerry.

You lived. You loved. You laughed. And in that final year, you surrounded yourself with the most beautiful people—people who loved you just as deeply as I did

I was so proud of you. Of every dog walk, every weekend away and every chemo you endured.

Now I am left with all of moments I still want to share with you. I go to share the latest escapades of the possum who broke into the Hobart airport last week. I went to photo another scruffy dog or think about the crazy present Zoe and I would have planned for your 50th. Mostly I wish I could just tell you about the day to day shenanigans of my little family. Somehow those moments hit the hardest.

So in those moments and in every moment Kerry I'll hold on to my love for you. To my curly haired, kind hearted, stripey sock wearing, dog and penguin loving beautiful sister, thankyou for being you and on behalf of all of your family we miss you

Tribute from Amy

I would like to invite Kerry's good friend Amy to share with us her tribute.

Kerry Wilson, Kerry Morgan, Kerry Jawroski, Kerry our Kenfig Hill Kangaroo, Kerry .. The Warrior, Kerry Crazy socks.... Kerry my friend.

Kerry came into my life via my sister Gem, she told me I would love Kerry and that she adored her, this came as a massive surprise, not that I end up loving her. I knew I would as soon as I saw her cheeky smile and trademark colourful socks but the surprise was that my sister had made a new friend that didn't have four legs and one she didn't seem to pretend to like. That is testament to Kerry's inclusiveness, her quirkiness and of course the passion we all shared for our dogs, friends, being outdoors, helping others and..... Steve's cooking.

When I think of Kerry it's usually outdoors or in our other shared happy place. Many of you here may or may not know the Base but for those who don't I will read a quote from a book also filled with some stripey socks to help you understand it:

And so said the mad hatter (aka Mandy who runs the base) "the secret is to surround yourself with people who make your heart smile. It's only then you'll find wonderland".

And so in our strong women's wonderland Kerry fitted right in with her crazy socks, wit, strength and stamina. She made friends, memories and a huge impact on everyone she met. She raised funds doing le tour du Pyle a brutal 5 hour spinnathon, a muddy assault course and a 4am hike up Pen Y Fan. Kerry was always up for a challenge particularly when that involved helping others she was so unbelievably generous, thoughtful and fun. Kerry's smile and subtle way of making you feel included added an extra bit of colourful Kerry confetti over our classes and challenges, and of course some rock music!

But little did we know that Kerry was about to head into the hardest challenge and my god did she face that challenge like a Warrior. She has undoubtedly inspired us all, I'm sure everyone in this room was in awe with how she lived her life particularly in recent times.

I thought I would share with you some of the words our Base community have used to describe Kerry:

warm, friendly, fun and inclusive.
Her energy, enthusiasm and optimism is infectious and unwavering.
Cute, brave and hilarious.
WARRIOR, her strength and courage, mind blowing
Beautiful inside and out
The most bubbly woman you ever did meet
What an impact she made.

The last time me and Gem met with Kerry she had been in YBwythyn for many weeks and was at the final stages of her battle and she said to me:

"I reckon I can get to Kenfig one last time"

I said I can carry you there the bloody size on you girl.

She said "youre not carrying me, no fun in that you need to get my scooter charged"

We all laughed and then Kerry said deadly seriously "but once weve done Kenfig may as well do Parc slip, right?"

Again we all laughed but this just summed up Kerry's approach to life, her positivity, energy, smiles and hope.

I cannot put into words the profound effect knowing Kerry has had on me, I am sure many of you here cant but what we all can do though is weave it into our actions. Acts of thoughtfulness and kindness and a little craziness as Kerry would want us to.

Memories from Amanda

I would now like to invite Kerry's friend Amanda to share with us her tribute.

Kerry was a person of strong belief, kindness and courage who inspired those around her with her honesty, direct 'aussie style' feedback and her dedication to making a difference beyond her professional work. Her enthusiasm for life was second to none.

When I first met Kerry, she put me in a swelteringly hot glass-walled office, left me with some bottles of water, and trusted I'd still prepare well enough for my interview to get the job. Though I thought I might faint and ruin everything, she was right; from then on, our friendship blossomed.

I soon learned that Kerry valued honesty and feedback. Eager to ask questions, I called her early on my first Monday morning, only to be politely told she'd reply after coffee at 10am as she was suffering from the Monday grumps which I soon learned was a regular occurrence! Though she lived in the UK for years, Kerry kept her Aussie directness, never hesitating to give candid feedback—always accurate, delivered with a smile and an occasional "sorry."

Although Kerry excelled in Tech thanks to her innate talent, it was never her genuine passion. One of the first stories I heard about Kerry was when she was invited to dinner with the then CIO, when he asked her about her career ambitions, she spent the rest of the meal telling him about penguins and the conservation work she had done as a teen and how that was her ambition – to get back there and continue to make a difference.

We travelled together a fair bit for work – I could tell you about our trip to Seattle and the Japanese toilets but what goes on tour, stays on tour. We spent a bit of time in Manchester when the field programme started and soon worked out that participating in wine Wednesday at the local pub, where you got a bottle of wine for £5, helped us resolve all the problems at work and on the odd occasion if we got carried away, world peace as well.

When she moved to Wales and had to come to the office in Windsor, Kerry used to stay over and we would talk for hours about plants and animals. She used to laugh at my carefully tended and cared for seedlings who lived in luxury in the annex whilst she would return to Wales and just stick some seeds in the ground and up they came! So we can add being green fingered to her long list of talents too…

We also talked about exercise and having a shared love of the outdoors - we managed to convince ourselves that doing a 10k Tough Mudder with zero training would be a good idea…. she truly believed we could do it, and we did, although it wasn't until afterwards that she confessed she thought it was a mud run and not tough mudder!

The next big adventure was a night hike up Snowdon to raise money for SANDS. Kerry knew how important it was to us and just invited herself along – and I am so glad she did as that was the first time I had ever been up anything bigger than a small hill and her support was amazing. I can still hear Dan mumbling to me through gritted teeth as we hobbled down the last very steep mile 'I can't believe Kerry is running!' whilst Kerry yelled 'sorry but I just gotta RUN I can't walk any more' over her shoulder. We did catch up with her in time to get our medals and bacon sarnies.

Post her diagnosis, we had to slow the pace a little but that didn't mean less laughter, especially when we blinged up the scooter and proved to Kerry it would make it to Porthcawl town and back to where we were staying. The highlight of last year was the canal boat trip. It was the first holiday we had booked with AI - having both googled for hours we were still lost in options, but AI sorted it out and even gave us a route with dog friendly preferred pubs! I can remember the constant laughter with echoes of 'leave that Kerry we will do it' from Steve and Dan whilst she jumped off the boat with a rope in each hand muttering something about shoving something somewhere as she was just fine thank you.

It's difficult to express how we've come together today. The world feels less bright without Kerry, but we'll keep her spirit alive by remembering her, as she inspired us all to make the world a better place.

Closing Words of Comfort

We now near the end of our celebration of life service for Kerry, and as we do so, we once again reflect on the remarkable ways she touched the lives of those around her. Kerry's legacy is one of kindness, generosity, and a wholehearted way of living that many of you were lucky enough to experience with her. Kerry leaves behind a powerful reminder of the impact that one person can have simply by caring — truly and deeply caring — about the world and the people in it, creating a ripple effect of warmth and compassion that will continue to resonate. Though Kerry is no longer with us in the way you wish, her spirit will live on in the kindness you extend to others, the love you share, and in the way you choose to live your own lives – with good intentions, a kind heart, and vibrant soul. In that way, Kerry's story does not end here – it will be carried on through every one of you. Kerry will be deeply missed, always remembered, and forever loved.

In Kerry's honour, a Go Fund Me page has been set up to raise money for a memorial bench to be placed at Kenfig Nature Reserve – a place where she would often visit for peace, reflection, and connection with the natural world. The hope, and purpose of this bench is that it will become a sanctuary for people to rest and take in the true beauty of the reserve as the seasons shift through the landscape and unfolds around them.

It will be a place of serenity, where you, or anyone who visits can hold their lost loved ones in their thoughts and hearts, just as Kerry held this place in her heart.

The bench will stand not only as a tribute to her life, but as a quiet reminder of the comfort that nature can offer in moments of remembrance.