Eulogy for David Kitchener Gwyn Morgan.
"Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap."
Gwyn was born in Llanishen in Cardiff as the youngest of six, his oldest sister was 20 years older than he was – and yes – he was spoiled rotten. He came from honest humble valley stock, unashamed of hard work and simple pleasures. Gwyn’s father was a reservoir keeper and although the family was poor by anyone’s standards, nothing was too good for Gwyn the family’s blue-eyed boy, much loved and doted on. No doubt it was this that led to Gwyn being such a family person. He certainly worked hard to enable his own family to experience the same sense of love and well-being that he had enjoyed.
He knew that poor though they may have been , they were certainly blessed. What they enjoyed was a good measure of love, pressed down, shaken together, running over… and he was determined to share what he had been given.
Gwyn went to Cardiff High School and was recognized as being obviously bright. With family support and encouragement, he passed his exams to gain his chartered accountant status before he was 21. This was highly unusual in those days but was nonetheless very characteristic of Gwyn who, throughout his life focused on getting things done, done well, and, wherever possible done quickly. Gywn never saw the need to hang around. He became, for example, the scoutmaster of the 1st Llanishen Baptist Chapel when he was only 24.
(We can, of course, understand the attraction of this work - Betty was the company Akela!)
There was one exception to this love of speed, and that was his marriage to Betty. In spite of the fact that they had known one-another for many a year, it was not until both Gwyn and Betty were in their mid-twenties that they got married. Lest you think that Gwyn was slipping, I ought to point out that the delay in translating courtship into marriage can be laid almost entirely at Betty’s door – not Gwyn’s. Gwyn was called up in 1940 and initially served with the Air Force before being seconded to the Ministry of Supply. As Betty herself pointed out – the war had a way of sharpening the focus that every-day life just didn’t. So it was that, like a good Welshman, Gwyn proposed to Betty on a mountain, Caerphilly to be exact, after Church on a Sunday night, and they were married in February of 1940.
Theirs was a marriage which was truly blessed by God – and of course, by children. Jacqueline Mary was born in 1943 and Glynis Meriel followed six years later in ‘49. Gwyn was inordinately proud of his girls and liked nothing better than to tell any who would listen, just how special they both were, how good they were, how pretty, clever and hardworking, and, of course, what amazing grandchildren he had!
Because of work, the family moved from Wales to England but it was to be a long, long time before the family went anywhere other than back home to Wales for their holidays, to places like Tenby, Aberdovey, the Mumbles and the Gower Peninsula. It was one of those peculiar quirks of life that a man who had always been interested in geography needed such a lot of persuasion before he step outside his homeland. But it wasn’t until much later in life that Gwyn and the family travelled abroad. The family lived in Ealing first before moving to Forest Hill and then Beckenham in 1958. Gwyn was a hard worker who used his skill and abilities to work his way up the career ladder until he became the Managing Director of Halls, (Austin Hall group of companies) and, following on from that, the Financial Director of Pentos. As a result of the take-over of Austin by Pentos, however, Gwyn was happy to retire. He was a straight, honest business man who really didn’t feel comfortable with the asset stripping, amalgamation and take-over practices that were so much a part of the business world of the 70's. Oh don’t misunderstand me, Gwyn could be as shrewd and canny as the best of them. What he wasn’t prepared to be was deceitful, manipulative or destructive. Life for Gwyn was about a generous sharing of God’s bounty, not a greedy hoarding. He was a Welshman by birth, a Christian by conviction, a socialist by principle and a philanthropist by nature.
Generosity was Gwyn’s hallmark, not mindless giving, but deliberate, thought-through sharing. His generosity was of himself, his time, his energy and his commitment to others, in such ventures as the Abbeyfield movement and the hundred and one activities he was involved in and supported through his church life. He was thankful that God had given so generously to him, and he took seriously the responsibility to share with others. The Beatitudes were a code for living that Gwyn did his utmost to live up to.
Gwyn’s life of faith was nurtured in the Baptist chapel at Llanishen where his father was a Deacon. It was a deep and abiding faith that was mature enough to question and strong enough to support and uphold him in times of need. Gwyn was not a ‘blind believer’. He was an intelligent, questioning man, who wanted to know and understand the relevance of faith, the purposes of God and the importance of the church. His church life was as full and dynamic as every other part of his life. The family have good, fond memories, for example, of Gwyn dressed up in a long black dress with dangly earrings for the church amateur dramatics. He was an easy orator, with a strong commanding voice – he was a natural leader who took responsibility seriously. He served the Baptists as a deacon – and the Methodists as a steward and treasurer. They came to the Methodist church here at Beckenham by divine grace. When the children were growing up, Gwyn and Betty felt the need to be a part of a local church rather than travelling to Sydenham each Sunday. They tried various local churches, but ours was the only one with a Welsh organist. You can take the boy out of the valley, but you can never take the valley out of the boy!
The more that Gwyn gave, the more that God seemed to give him. He really had been given a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. Everything that Gwyn did, he entered into with gusto. He was not one of life’s observers. He knew he had been blessed with life in all its fullness, and so he set out to live that life well, with as much energy and enthusiasm as he could muster. He was an organizer, motivator and ‘goer’ par excellence. His trust in and love of God spilled out of him in praise and adoration in a way that just could not be denied.
Gwyn was a gentleman. He loved Golf and Bridge, but don’t let this fool you into thinking that Gwyn lived his life at a sedate, leisurely pace – as I have already mentioned – Gwyn was in love with speed – and with winning. He made sure, for instance, that the family won the ‘Father and daughter’ race at school sports day every single year. He and Betty took up skiing in their late 50's. They went at least 6 times and they loved it. But Gwyn also went water-skiing, wind surfing and even paragliding and would delight in telling how, at the end of the glide he landed like a ballet dancer on the beach. Actually Gwyn was a good dancer – he enjoyed ballroom dancing and – yes he was a romantic at heart. Last thing at night after skiing for example, when everyone else had long since gone to their cabins, he would persuade the pianist to play a gentle waltz so that he and Betty could dance.
He and Betty shared a lifetime of love, of passion and of faith and these were the real gifts that he gave back to the world. His love for his family, his children and grandchildren, his pride in their achievements and his conviction that they really were the best – ever! His passion for the world, for justice and for truth which he shared with his church families, and of course, his faith which sustained, inspired, provoked and motivated him to give, give and give again of the riches that God had given him..
“For the measure you give will be the measure you get back."
(As delivered by Rev Dr Angela Shier-Jones at Gwyn’s memorial service)
