Llanishen Methodist Church						Melbourne Road, Llanishen,
						Cardiff CF14 5NH
space
Home	Minister	Services	Activities	Rotas	People	Organ	Our History	Churches Together	Links & Contacts
People Index
All content © Llanishen Methodist Church Cardiff 2006 - 2008
spacer
				Mary Ellen Hall April 18th 1922 - January 8th 2009
			Mary died in Cardiff on January 8th 2009. Rev Philip Drake conducted her funeral service at Llanishen on Wednesday January 28th, followed by  commital at Thornhill Crematorium. The family took her ashes back to her native North Wales. As the chapel in Llan Ffestiniog in which Mary grew up is no longer in use an interment service was conducted by the Rev Ariadne van den Hof at St Michael's church on Friday March 27th. Ann said, "Mum was laid to rest with her parents and sister, overlooking the Vale of Ffestiniog she loved so much. She's home."

			Eulogy given at Funeral Service January 28th 2009 Funeral Eulogy in Welsh Eulogy given at Interment Service March 27th 2009 Photographs at the 2007 Rembrance Day Parade
Eulogy given by  Stan at the Funeral  of Mary Ellen Hall 28 January 2009 conducted by the Rev Philip Drake GOTO TOP			Mary came originally from North Wales. She was born Mary Ellen  Williams in Cerrig-y-drudion, Denbighshire in April 1922 into a farming family which consisted of Mary, two brothers, Tom and Robert John, and a sister, Jane. They moved over the mountain to a house in the middle of nowhere and then to Llan Ffestiniog in Merionethshire and woe betide anyone who suggested she lived in Blaenau Ffestiniog - they were definitely not the same place. Her father worked in the local granite quarry and Mary enjoyed a very happy family life centred very much around the chapel and its activities. Her father helped with sheep shearing and the whole family helped local farmers with the haymaking and Mary often recalled riding back to the village on the top of a hay cart. The village was remote and when they wanted to visit her father's family over  the mountain in Cwm Penmachno they would have to walk for two or three hours. If they were lucky they would get a ride down the other side of the mountain in the empty slate wagons returning from the top. The highlight of the year for them was the Cerrig-y-drudion show - the Sioe Cerrig - when all the family would get together. Mary was and remained very fond of children and her first job, on leaving school, at fourteen, was looking after the children of a solicitor in Blaenau. Love of children was in the family as Mary's mother had looked after children before her marriage and Mary's sister, Jane, worked in the local children's home. She went on to work caring for the children of two teachers in Blaenau County School and she developed a very special relationship with the family. She was particularly fond of the boy, Glyn, and loved him from the moment she first saw him. Glyn wore calipers on his legs, possibly as a result of polio. Mary became part of the family. She went on holiday with them and on her day off would often take both children home to her own family in Llan, which they loved. The daughter, Margaret, is now a grandmother herself and lives in York. She is unable to be here today but will be attending the service which will be held in North Wales. At the outbreak of war Mary and her sister Jane joined the ATS and were stationed first in Lincoln and then in Manchester. The journey back to Llan Ffestiniog was too great for frequent returns home so she would often stay in Wrexham with her mother's cousin. She became very close to her second cousin Menna and Menna and her family are with us today. It was while she was stationed in Manchester that she met Jim and the story of their courtship and marriage reads like something out of a  romantic novel. In 1943 Jim was home on leave and went to one of the many dance halls in Manchester. Not much was happening and he was about to leave when in walked Mary and a friend. Jim danced with Mary several times that evening and met her again during the week. At the end of the week Jim was sent abroad but by now love had blossomed and a two years courtship began. They didn't see each other in all this time but wrote to each other regularly. Jim proposed to Mary by letter and even sent on the money for her to buy an engagement ring. By the end of 1945 Jim returned from Italy on a month's leave and Mary got extended leave from the ATS. The wedding was planned to take place in Llan Ffestiniog on December 1st. Jim, his brother Ronnie, and their parents set out from Manchester on a journey to darkest North Wales, an area they had not visited before. On arrival at Llandudno Junction on the evening of November 30th they asked the station master the time of the next train to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Six o'clock tomorrow morning was the reply. It was pitch black, the blackout was still in operation, and they had no idea where they were. After presumably offering the station master a little sweetener they were allowed to spend the night in a railway carriage until the first train the following morning. They were met at Blaenau station by Mary's brother Tom and taken to Mary's house. The door was answered by Mary's mother and the first words Jim heard from his future mother-in-law were 'You  - next door'.  It is only fair to say here that she and Jim got on very well from then on. Jim's problems increased at the wedding itself which took place in Peniel chapel. He hadn't been told that he would be entering at the front door and was horrified to discover that everybody was staring at him and giving him the once-over as he arrived. He didn't make much of the service or the reception that followed because, as he said to me last week, 'They were all yakking away in Welsh', that being Mary's first language. In spite of this inauspicious beginning this was the start of a marriage of love and devotion, and a lot of laughs, which lasted for 63 years. The honeymoon was brief because on Boxing Day Jim had to return to Italy. But at the end of the war they settled in Manchester, in rooms with Jim's parents. Jim was employed in the cotton trade and Mary worked in Kendall Milne, a Manchester  department store. After a number of years they moved to Cliftonville in Kent where Jim was a buyer for the Bobby Group of department stores. Eventually he was offered a job with James Howell in Cardiff. Although for Mary this meant returning to Wales she viewed it with some apprehension. Coming from the north, with its beautiful scenery, she had always thought of Cardiff and the south as an industrial area and didn't relish living beneath a coal tip. However, she and Jim were agreeably surprised when they first saw Cardiff  and settled happily - Jim working for James Howell and Mary in the rival store of David Morgan! After a number of years at David Morgan - where she was known as Mrs Hallam, because there was another Mrs Hall working there - she decided on a change of career and joined the Civil Service, working for the tax office. These were perhaps the happiest years of her working life, driving around the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan helping local companies to sort out their tax returns. She retired from this job in 1986 on the birth of her grandson. She had looked after children as a girl and helping to care for Jeremy and bring him up gave her the greatest of pleasure in later years. One of the abiding memories of Jeremy's childhood is going to spend the day with Jim and Mary in the summer and starting the day off with his Nan's special toast and marmalade. Mary loved making marmalade and would make pots of it in a big pan in her kitchen, much of it in aid of this church's building fund. If he was lucky Jeremy would often be given the chance to stir it.  He also has happy memories of helping Mary make cakes and she would often allow him to steal mouthfuls of icing sugar. The family lived for some time in Llandaff  North and Fairwater and moved to Llanishen thirty years ago. Wherever she lived - North Wales, Manchester, Kent, Cardiff - Mary was always involved with the local chapel and its activities. She not only attended services and functions but was always ready to work, be it putting out the chairs for a meeting or clearing up and washing the dishes afterwards. Mary was always there to help people and the caring side was uppermost in her make-up. In  Coplestone Road Methodist Church in Llandaff North they were both involved in amateur dramatics, Jim helping backstage and Mary performing. Possibly the highlight of her theatrical career was as the hind legs of the pantomime horse. Mary loved driving, and on their only foreign holiday Jim and Mary went to Florida, where Mary did all the driving. Wherever they went Mary always seemed to find somebody from Wales. While they were in Florida she had previously learnt that a lady from Llan Ffestiniog was living in Tampa and they drove up to see her. We have heard that she and Jim met at a dance and dancing was an activity that they enjoyed for many years. They attended the Sybil Marks school in Cardiff and enjoyed many a night out at Bindles. They were proud owners of silver medals for ballroom dancing. But they wore with greater pride the medals that they both had received following their service during the last war. They were regular attenders at the annual Remembrance Day service in the city, an event they rarely missed. These are the bald facts about Mary's life. But what about Mary the person? Perhaps I can conclude by quoting from some of the messages of sympathy that Jim, Ann, and Jeremy have received in recent weeks. "With Mary's passing she has left me with beautiful memories that I shall treasure for the rest of my time" "A truly lovely lady in every way... we feel privileged to have known her over many years" "Mary was a person I loved being with - her wit and humour were unique" And my favourite: "One of my abiding memories will be of Mary, standing in the breakfast room, buttering and cutting off incredibly thin slices of her delicious bara brith. I was always amazed that she could cut them so precisely that they didn't disintegrate. It became one of my unfulfilled ambitions to do the same". Mary's last years were blighted by a very cruel illness and those of us who knew her only in that time will not know what a wonderful lady she was. Those who did know her are very privileged. After today's service Mary's ashes will be taken to North Wales, to her home, where she will be laid to rest alongside her mother and father, and her sister.
						GOTO TOP
Araith a Roddwyd yn Angladd Mary Ellen Hall 28 Ionawr 2009 GOTO TOP			Hanodd Mary o ogledd Cymru. Ganwyd Mary Ellen Williams yng Ngherrig-y-drudion, Sir Ddinbych ym mis Ebrill 1922 i mewn i deulu amaethyddol oedd yn cynnwys Mary, dau frawd, Tom a Robert John, a chwaer, Jane. Symudon nhw dros y mynydd i dy yng nghanol nunlle ac wedyn i Lan Ffestiniog a gwae i unrhywun a awgrymai ei bod hi'n byw ym Mlaenau Ffestiniog - doedden nhw ddim yr un lle o gwbl! Bu ei thad yn gweithio yn y chwarel gwenithfaen a mwynhaodd Mary fwyd teuluol hapus iawn o gwmpas y capel a'i  gweithgareddau. Byddai ei thad yn helpu gyda'r cneifio a byddai'r  teulu i gyd yn helpu gyda chynaeafu'r gwair a gallai Mary gofio dod yn ol i'r pentre ar ben drol wair. Roedd y pentref yn un anghysbell a pan oedden nhw eisiau ymweld a theulu ei thad dros y mynydd yng Nhwm Penmachno bydden nhw'n gorfod cerdded am ddwy neu dair awr. Os oedden nhw'n lwcus bydden nhw'n cael reid i lawr yr ochr arall mewn wageni llechi gwag oedd yn dychwelyd o'r copa. Uchafbwynt iddyn nhw oedd Sioe Cerrig pan fyddai'r teulu i gyd yn cael y cyfle i gwrdd a'i gilydd. Roedd Mary wastad yn hoff iawn o blant ac ei swydd gyntaf, ar ol gadael yr ysgol, oedd gofalu am blant cyfreithiwr ym Mlaenau. Cariad at blant oedd nodweddiadol o'r teulu - roedd mam Mary wedi gofalu am blant cyn priodi ac roedd ei chwaer, Jane, yn gweithio mewn cartref plant lleol. Aeth wedyn  i ofalu am blant dau athro yn Ysgol Sir Blaenau Ffestiniog a chafodd berthynas clos iawn gyda'r teulu. Roedd hi'n arbennig o hoff o'r bachgen, Glyn. Bu rhaid iddo wisgo caliperau, o ganlyniad i bolio efallai. Daeth Mary yn rhan o'r teulu. Byddai hi'n mynd ar wyliau gyda nhw ac weithiau byddai hi'n mynd a'r plant i ymweld a'i theulu ei hun yn Llan a byddai'r plant wrth eu boddau yno. Mae'r ferch Margaret yn byw yn Efrog bellach; nid yw hi'n gallu bod yma gyda ni heddiw ond bydd hi'n bresennol  yn y gwasanaeth yng ngogledd Cymru. Ar ddechrau'r rhyfel ymunodd Mary a'i chwaer Jane a'r ATS ac aethon nhw i Lincoln ac wedyn i Fanceinion. Roedd hi'n rhy bell i ddychwelyd yn ol i Lan Ffestiniog yn aml iawn felly byddai hi'n aros yn Wrecsam gyda chyfnither ei fam. Cafodd berthynas agos i'w chyfyrder Menna ac mae Menna a'i theulu yma gyda ni heddiw. Gwnaeth Mary gwrdd a Jim pan oedd hi gwasanathu ym Manceinion ac mae hanes eu carwriaeth a phriodas yn darllen fel rhywbeth allan o nofel ramantus. Ym 1943 roedd Jim gartre ar seibiant ac aeth un noson i un o'r neuaddau dawnsio ym Manceinion. Doedd dim bid yn digwydd yno ac roedd e ar fin gadael pan ddaeth Mary a ffrind i mewn. Dawnsiodd Jim gyda hi sawl gwaith a threfnon nhw gwrdd yn ystod yr wythnos. Ar ddiwedd yr wythnos danfonwyd Jim dramor ond erbyn hyn roedd cariad wedi blodeuo a dechreuodd carwriaeth a barhaodd am ddwy flynedd. Naethon nhw ddim gweld ei gilydd ond ysgrifennon at ei gilydd yn rheolaidd. Cynigiodd Jim briodi i Mary trwy lythyr ac anfonodd arian ati er mwyn iddi hi brynu modrwy ddyweddiad. Erbyn diwedd 1945 dychwelodd Jim o'r Eidal ar seibiant  am fis a chafodd Mary seibiant hefyd o'r ATS. Roedden nhw i briodi yn Llan Ffestiniog ar y cyntaf o fis Rhagfyr. Cychwynnodd Jim, Ronnie ei frawd, a'u rhieni ar ei ffordd o Fanceinion i berfeddion tywyllaf gogledd Cymru, ardal doedden nhw ddim yn cyfarwydd a hi o gwbl. Ar gyrraedd Cyffordd Llandudno gofynnodd i reolwr yr orsaf amser  y tren nesa i Flaenau Ffestiniog. Chwech o'r gloch bore yfory oedd yr ateb. Roedd hi fel y fagddu, roedd y blacowt mewn grym, a doedd dim syniad gyda nhw ble roedden nhw. Ar ol efallai rhoi tipyn o gildwrn i'r dyn cawson nhw ganiatad i dreulio'r nos mewn cerbyd tren i aros am y tren cyntaf yn y bore. Naethon nhw gwrdd a Tom, brawd Mary, yng ngorsaf Blaenau ac aethon nhw syth i dy Mary. Agorodd mam Mary y drws a'r geiriau cyntaf a glywodd Jim gan ei ddarpar mam-yng-nghyfraith oedd "You - next door"! Mae'n deg dweud iddyn nhw fynd ymlaen gyda'i gilydd o hynny ymlaen. Cafodd Jim drafferth yn y briodas a gynhaliwyd yng nghapel Peniel. Doedd neb wedi dweud wrtho y byddai'n mynd i mewn drwy'r drws ffrynt a chafodd sioc enfawr pan sylweddolodd bod pawb yn edrych arno wrth iddo gyrraedd. Methodd a deall y gwasanaeth oherwydd roedd popeth yn y Gymraeg. Ac hefyd yn y derbyniad, er bod pawb yn garedig wrtho  fe a'i deulu, roedd pawb yn siarad Cymraeg. Ond er gwaethaf yr holl drafferthion, hyn oedd dechrau priodas lawn o gariad ac ymroddiad a llawer o chwerthin a barhaodd am 63 o flynyddoedd. Cawson nhw fis fel byr iawn oherwydd bu rhaid i Jim ddychwelyd i'r Eidal erbyn diwedd y mis. Ar ddiwedd y rhyfel aethon nhw i fyw ym Manceinion gyda rhieni Jim. Cafodd Jim swydd yn y busnes cotwm a bu Mary'n gweithio yn Kendall Milne, siop fawr yn y ddinas. Ar ol nifer o flynyddoedd yno symudon nhw i Kent ble cafodd Jim swydd gyda chwmni Bobby Group. Ond cyn hir cynigiwyd swydd iddo fe gyda siop adrannol James Howell yng Nghaerdydd. Er bod hyn yn gyfle i Mary ddychwelyd i Gymru roedd y ddau ohonyn nhw braidd yn bryderus. Fel un o ogledd Cymru, gyda golygfeydd hardd a bendigedig, roedd hi wastad wedi meddwl am y de fel ardal ddiwydiannol a doedd hi ddim yn orawyddus i fyw o dan tip glo. Er hynny, cawson nhw syrpreis hyfryd wrth weld Caerdydd am y tro cyntaf a sefydlon nhw yma yn hapus - Jim yn gweithio i James Howell and Mary gyda'r siop David Morgan. Ar ol nifer o flynyddoedd gyda David Morgan - ble roedd pawb yn ei galw hi Mrs Hallam (roedd Mrs Hall arall yno!) - penderfynodd adael ac ymuno a'r Gwasanaeth Sifil, yn gweithio yn y Swyddfa Dreth. Roedd hi wrth ei bodd yno, yn gyrru o gwmpas Bro Morgannwg, ardal hyfryd iawn (ond dim cystal a'r gogledd!) yn helpu cwmniau i fynd trwy eu  ffurflenni treth. Ymddeolodd ym 1986 ar enedigaeth ei wyr. Roedd hi wedi gofalu am blant pan oedd hi'n ferch a chafodd lawer o bleser gan helpu i fagu Jeremy. Un o atgofion melys Jeremy ydy mynd i dreulio'r diwrnod gyda Jim a Mary yn yr haf a dechrau gyda tost a marmaled arbennig ei Nan. Roedd Mary wrth ei bodd yn gwneud marmaled a byddai hi'n gwneud potiau ohoni mewn padell enfawr yn ei chegin, llawer ohoni er lles cronfa adeiladu'r eglwys hon. Os oedd e'n lwcus byddai Jeremy yn cael cyfle i'w throi. Mae ganddo hefyd atgofion parhaol o helpu Mary i wneud teisennau ac nawr ac yn y man byddai hi'n rhoi caniatad iddo i "ddwyn" cegeidiau o siwgwr eisin. Bu'r teulu'n byw am amser yn ardal Llandaff North ac yn Fairwater (ardaloedd yng Nghaerdydd) a symudon nhw i Lanisien drideg o flynyddoedd yn ol. Ble bynnag roedd hi'n byw - gogledd Cymru, Manceinion, Kent, Caerdydd - byddai Mary wastad yn ymwneud a'r capel a'r gweithgareddau sydd yn rhan ohono. Nid yn unig y byddai hi'n mynychu'r gwasanaethau ond roedd hi wastad yn barod i weithio - naill ai'n trefnu cadeiriau ar gyfer cyfarfod, neu olchi'r llestri ar y diwedd. Roedd Mary wastad yno i helpu pobl ac roedd yr ochr ofalgar wastad ar y blaen yn ei natur. Yn yr eglwys yn Llandaff North roedd ganddynt ddiddordeb yn y theatr amatur - Jim yn gweithio tu cefn i'r llwyfan a Mary yn actio o dro i dro. Efallai uchafbwynt gyrfa Mary ar y llwyfan oedd chwarae coesau ol ceffyl mewn pantomeim! Roedd Mary wrth ei bodd yn dreifio, ac ar eu hunig wyliau dramor aeth Mary a Jim i Florida. Ble bynnag aethon nhw byddai Mary wastad yn dod o hyd i rywun o Gymru. Pan oedden nhw yn Florida roedd Mary wedi clywed yn barod am ddynes o Lan Ffestiniog oedd yn byw yn Tampa a gyrrodd hi yr holl ffordd i'w gweld hi. Rydyn ni wedi clywed i Mary a Jim gwrdd a'i gilydd mewn  neuadd ddawnsio ac roedden nhw'n dwli ar ddawnsio am flynyddoedd llawer. Bydden nhw'n mynd i Ysgol Ddawnsio Sybil Marks yng Nghaerdydd a mwynhau sawl noson allan yn Bindles (neuadd ddawnsio) yn y Barri. Roedden nhw wedi ennill medalau arian am ddawnsio ballroom. Ond bydden nhw'n gwisgo gyda mwy o falchder y medalau yr oedden nhw wedi eu derbyn  ar ol eu gwasanaeth yn y rhyfel. Bydden nhw'n mynychu gwasanaeth Sul y Cofio bob blwyddyn yn y ddinas. Dyna'r ffeithiau moel am fywyd Mary. Ond beth am Mary y person? Ga i orffen gan ddyfunnu allan o rai o'r negeseuon o gydymdeimlad a dderbynwyd gan Jim, Mary, a Jeremy yn yr wythnosau diwethaf? "With Mary's passing she has left me with beautiful memories that I shall treasure for the rest of my time" "A truly lovely lady in every way... we feel privileged to have known her over many years" "Mary was a person I loved being with - her wit and humour were unique" A fy ffefryn: "One of my abiding memories will be of Mary, standing in the breakfast room, buttering and cutting off incredibly thin slices of her delicious bara brith. I was always amazed that she could cut them so precisely that they didn't disintegrate. It became one of my unfulfilled ambitions to do the same". Amharwyd blynyddoedd diwethaf Mary gan salwch creulon iawn. Yn anffodus dim ond y rhai a oedd yn ei nabod hi yn y gorffennol yn gwybod pa mor arbennig ac yn rhyfeddol yr oedd hi. Ar ol y gwasanaeth heddiw bydd lludw Mary yn mynd yn ol i ogledd Cymru, i'w chynefin, ble bydd hi'n gorffwys gyda'i rhieni a'i chwaer.
						GOTO TOP
Margaret's eulogy at the interment of Mary Ellen Hall at Llan Ffestiniog on March 27th 2009 GOTO TOP			It must be nearly 70 years since I first saw Mary.  I was six-ish, & came home from school one day to find a new face at the kitchen table - Mary, aged 15 - 16, very pretty, with bright blue eyes and very dark hair.  She had come to help my mother as a housekeeper, and a nanny - my brother Glyn had been born with cerebral palsy, and was quite a frail little boy  - but very appealing with huge brown eyes and wavy brown hair,  Mary adored him and he her - she cared for both of us with such affection and fun.  So she became a friend & family member.  And  was with us until she joined the ATS - & met Jim!  And in the  intervening 7 decades we have never been out of touch, & Mary was my mother's friend until she (Jane) died in 1998. What one most remembers and appreciates in Mary are her absolute kindness & generosity, combined with a lovely lightness & grace of spirit.  Mary was quite astonishing  - quite frequently, on her one day a week off, she would take Glyn and me on a bus, down to Llan, and to 5 Peniel Terrace, where we had a lovely time.  Mrs Williams was fond of and good with children, Jane and Robert John would come home at teatime, and we would be made a fuss of and played with  - and then went back up to Blaenau on the bus!  They were wonderful days, and I have only fairly recently appreciated what an astonishing act of kindness it was to take  us with her on what was supposed to be Mary's day off.... You always felt better for having been with her - you had fun, jokes, affection. Another gift of Mary's to us was getting to know Jim, Ann & Jeremy; their care for Mary was unwavering, as was hers for them as long as she could. They were self evidently a happy, close family  - we were lucky enough to be at both their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries,  and I remember Jim saying at the 50th that anyone who told you they had never had an argument with their spouse in their married life was almost certainly lying!  -  but that he and Mary knew that the important things were not the cross purposes, but the deep and permanent bonds that last a lifetime. Today we meet to return her ashes to Merioneth, which she loved, particularly Llan.  I know that Jim, Ann & Jeremy feel this is  the right place. I would like, to mark Mary's Welsh inheritance, to end with an englyn from a sequence written to mourn  Hedd Wyn, a poet from Trawsfynydd, (just down the road) who was killed  in the 1st World War - written by an even better poet, R. Williams Parry: Wedi ei fyw y  mae dy fywyd - dy rawd Wedi ei redeg hefyd. Daeth awr i fynd i'th weryd A daeth i ben deithio byd.  And, as for the poet soldier, Mary's life came to its end  - but she gave , and has left us, joy and affection, kindness and happy memories.  One can not ask for more.
						GOTO TOP
2007 Photographs
Jim and Mary taking part in the 2007 Remembrance Day Parade in Cardiff's Civic Centre (left) and afterwards in Bute Park (right)
						GOTO TOP