Farewell then, Vena Reed

It was immensely sad to learn that Life Member Vena Reed died suddenly less than a month after the President’s Lunch. At least a dozen Surrey Opera stalwarts turned out to her funeral at Holy Cross Church, Motspur Park on October 29th, where the conductor of the West Barnes Singers, a local choir that Vena sang with, begged us to join them.

We knew Vena best as “Lawrie’s wife”, faithfully helping to sell programmes front of house. She did not “join” Surrey Opera as a singer until Macbeth in 2003, after Lawrie had suffered a mild stroke and she wanted to keep him close. As usual, it was the eulogies and appreciations that showed just what a full life Vena had led and how much she had contributed, not just to us at Surrey Opera but to other operatic societies, Cystic Fibrosis charities, the West Barnes Singers, her local church and a number of other local organisations. She will be sorely missed by her family and many friends.