After a brave fight with cancer my father in law Keith Glyn Williams was given a fine send off on the 9th December 2009. Being a popular and well known man the service was attended by over 300 people and the after proceedings continued until well into the night. He would have fully approved of the event, this video tribute was played during the afternoon and a round of applause was given by all those present.
Most of the condolence cards simply made reference to him being "a lovely man"
His daughter in law Katrina Annandale gave the following moving oration at Llandaff Cathedral which captures his character very well -
"The family have asked me to say a few words about Keith today, how can you capture the essence of a man like this in a few words.
A loving husband, a great dad and grampy, a real character, a great friend,a true gentleman. Always so smart, always happy and smiling, always joking.
For me, my fondest memories of keith as Im sure are many of yours, are sitting around a table with the obligatory glass or two of wine and listening to his stories, we have had a lot of laughs and quite a few tears these last few days remembering some of them.
He would talk of Mynachdy, where he was born, his adventures in Bluebell wood, and his last memories of his dad, whom he sadly lost in WW II just before his 4th birthday.
He would tell how he and his sister Marilyn had to grow up fast, hop picking at the age of 5 to help his mam out. He was never bitter about his tough start in life, just determined to work hard and make the most of it. After school he was keen to find work, this happened firstly at the coal board and then Rhymney Brewery which started his love of the licensed trade, both sides of the bar, which continued his entire life, and with that bright, sunny nature, he soon became a very popular member of the community and at work his practical jokes and sense of fun were legendary.
He would say that as a young man the place to be was the Marina in Penarth, where at the end of the night buses were laid on to all parts of Cardiff and Barry, people would be fighting to get on the Mynachdy bus, regardless of where they actually lived, because of the fun that was to be had, where Keith and often with his cousin Tony whipping the crowd into a frenzy leading from the front in the style of Elvis or Dean Martin.
Another was a plane journey back from spain, where Keith couldnt stand the glum faces of thoughts of returning home. He got hold of the on board microphone, and took it upon himself to conduct the entire plane to the tune of I AM THE MUSIC MAN, where by the end had organised an entire orchestra with a trumpet section, trombone section piano section and so on. And only yesterday I discovered he did exactly the same on a flight back from a rugby international in Dublin, not that many years ago. Both times he filled the entire plane with fun and laughter making it a flight to remember; only Keith could do this.
His children will tell you of their camping trips to spain, the outdoor life not being one of Keiths strengths, struggling with the tent, only to let some experienced Germans take over whilst Keith sat back and poured himself a pint and go on to share many more with them later. He never let foreign languages get in the way of him making friends and having fun.
He awoke the next day to an ant infestation, and went to seek help at the local shop, after trying to communicate the problem in many ways, speaking louder, putting on an accent, stringing a few words of various languages together, but it wasnt until he crawled around on all fours squirting an imaginary tin of spray at his head and rolling onto his back and doing the dying fly did the shopkeeper finally understand, meanwhile all around him have collapsed laughing. That was Keith, soft, funny, animated and entertaining as always.
He was gentle, warm and honest, a generous man with a lust for life and a great example of a life well lived.
He always tried to involve everybody; he felt the need to show you just how easy it was to enjoy yourself and how much fun life could be.
It was his ability to see the brighter side of life and spread that contagious laugh that we will all remember.
Ive been told that Keith was the sort of man that if you were out somewhere in his company, you wanted to work your way around the room to get the spot next to him and once you had it you didnt want to give it up.
He has left an enormous void in our lives, but Ori has told me that he wouldnt be happier than to know right know all his loved ones, his friends and colleagues were celebrating his life and laughing about his happy memories."
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Glyn Williams' All Star Brass Zelda ft Alan Hobbinsby tynyffridd3,958 views
Hiya this is real sad I'm sorry for you are you from rhymney then because I am (:
birt4eva 2 years ago
He was a Cardiff boy, Gabalfa and then Llandaff but first job was Rhymney Brewery.
pencisely 2 years ago