Whilst not written with the humour, eloquence or charm that Dad would have included in his blog post, we warmly invite you to celebrate the life of Ian Theodoreson with us at
2pm on Saturday 23rd November,
at Woodlands Church, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 2AA.
There will be a service followed by some light refreshments. Please arrive at the church in good time for the service to start at 2 o’clock.
Please note parking is metered in streets around Woodlands. The car park at Clifton Down shopping centre is the nearest public facility. There will be some limited parking on site for disabled access. The church is a short walk from Clifton Down or Redland station. Clifton Down is 5 stops from Bristol Temple Meads.
** We kindly ask that you RSVP here **
Ahead of the event, we would like to invite you to record and upload a (very) short video of yourself sharing 5 words about who Ian was to you (either as a short sentence or 5 individual words). We will be pulling these together into a video to be played at the service.
Please note that depending on numbers, we may not be able to include everyone’s videos, but we would love to see them anyway so please don’t hold back!
If you have a couple of photos of Ian you wish to share then please do so via the drop box too.
Please upload all videos and photos by 10th November – thank you.
Please click here for dropbox access
For those who are unable to attend in person, the service will be live streamed by Woodlands Church. If you would like to be sent the link to the live stream please indicate so on the RSVP link.
Please feel free to forward this invitation to others you know who may wish to join us. Thank you for your thoughtful comments and messages on Dad’s posthumous blog. We look forward to seeing and sharing stories with you on the 23rd November,
Sally, Emma, Mark, Clare and Jo
Sally and family, so sorry we cannot join you on the day, but I have uploaded a vid and a photo.
I found the five word limit quite challenging for a video, especially as my first attempt started with “lights, camera, action” and ended with “cut”, which only left room for one other word. 🤪.
Seriously, Janie and I send you lots of warm thoughts and hope that the celebration event goes well.
Ian & pp Janie x
I am sorry that I won’t be able to be there. I remember with great fondness Ian’s wisdom, humour and kindness, from being on the Board of Trustees at Vineyard (as it was), and from when he and Sally took my campervan for a trip around the North Island on their ‘gap year’.
He claimed he hasn’t written a book, but his blogs are a version of a book, and perhaps could become one. His eloquence, his love of language, his ability to explain deep truths in clear, beautiful prose stay with me.
Five words? Difficult to keep to that…:
Astute, kind, empathetic, faithful, funny.
Dear Sally, Emma, Mark, Clare and Jo
I have been away, so many apologies for missing the deadline for submitting a video or photos about Ian.
Ian and I joined the charity sector at pretty well the same time, me at ActionAid in 1986 and Ian at Save the Children in 1987. We were part of the small group of FD’s who founded the Charity Finance Group in 1987, and Ian succeeded me as FD of Barnardo’s in 1995. We were always good friends and colleagues through the years.
In 2011, when Ian became chair of CFG, I was editor of Charity Finance magazine and interviewed Ian for a profile I published in November 2011. I will upload it separately and hope it will be yet another demonstration for you of the very high esteem in which Ian was held by everyone in the charity world.
My sincere condolences on your sad loss.
Very best wishes
Andrew Hind
I am sorry not to be able to be physically present today to celebrate Ian’s life and to say farewell. I am sure that despite the sadness there will also have been much joy in the shared memories of Ian’s life. It’s been a very long time since Ian and I overlapped for a number of years at Save the Children, but who could forget his cheerful optimism and sense of humour, even when faced with a ‘black hole’ in the finances! It’s clear from reading other’s comments both here and in response to his final blog that he carried that optimism with him throughout his life, even when confronted by the finality of his illness, and that he was a source of inspiration to so many people.
So, farewell, then, brave warrior: curly, cheeky, cuddly (I can only guess), courageous, and constant. The words of those who knew and loved you show how much you will be missed.
Thank you Andrew x Sally