05 Apr

Moira Ades - Tribute

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David and Moira Ades

Moira Ades  1936 – 2015

Moira hailed from Forest Gate, London, the first of two children born to Andrew and Ellen Stevenson. During World War Two, the children and their mother evacuated to Dorset,  where Moira grew to love the countryside. At the end of  hostilities, the family was reunited  and they moved to Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Moira attended the local Junior and High Schools and the age of nine, she first met her future husband, David Ades.

Throughout her life, Moira was seriously afflicted with chronic asthma, and her education was badly disrupted as a result of this condition. Upon leaving school, and after several different jobs, she ultimately became a book-keeper for her father, continuing in this role until her marriage to David in 1967. Around this time, David gained a promotion within Midland Bank, which necessitated a re-location to Northamptonshire, and it was there in 1968 that their only child – a daughter, Fenella – was born.

Moira believed that some of the most beautiful things in life came from nature. She loved sunsets, flowers, trees and animals. She also had an artistic eye, and inherited a love of antiques from her
father, building up her collection as-and-when funds permitted. Along with David, she enjoyed good food and  wine, and particularly in later years, travelling.

The family moved several times ‘with the job’ and eventually settled in Nottingham. In 1989, David was able to secure a very generous retirement package, and they decided to live in the South-West, which Moira remembered fondly from her childhood. Their beautiful new home and garden in Seavington St. Michael,  Somerset, occasionally played host to members of the Robert Farnon Society for ‘extra’ meetings  during  the summer.

Moira soon became involved with local voluntary work, including helping to raise funds for a new Village Hall.  She was always very supportive of David, both in his professional life and in his ‘second career’ after  retirement, when he ran the RFS and also acted as consultant for many CD projects, including of course his stewardship of the ‘Golden Age Of Light Music’ series for Guild Records.

For many years, Moira accompanied David to the London Meetings of the Society, where she could usually be found  helping out ‘on the door’. She was always very welcoming,  especially to those attending for the first time, and her wonderful smile and cheerful disposition will be remembered with much  affection by many.    

Although in declining  health herself, Moira continued to be a tower of strength for David as his own illness progressed through to its unfortunate final stages.  After his passing, she spent a great deal of time with her daughter’s family, and was looking forward to moving into a specially constructed annexe attached to their house.

As previously reported, Moira was admitted to hospital in mid-December 2015 for a surgical procedure. Whilst this initially appeared to be successful, she then developed post-operative complications which her medical team were unable to resolve, and she sadly passed away on December 27th.

A  loving and caring wife, mother and grandmother, Moira also became a good friend to many of us in the Robert Farnon Society; her passing, especially so soon after David’s, has left a huge void and she will be greatly missed. Once again, our sincere condolences are extended to Fenella and her husband  Barry – and her two grandsons James and William.

©Tony Clayden
    April 2015

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Read 4571 times Last modified on Wednesday, 06 April 2016 08:14

1 comment

  • William Zucker posted by William Zucker Thursday, 07 April 2016 03:24

    This is a beautiful portrait of a family and its history. It is too bad that it was not extant when I wrote my tribute at the time Moira passed on.

    Regretfully, by virtue of my residence in the USA, I did not know the family directly, although I was in frequent dialogue with David for a number of years prior to joining the RFS, so this portrait, as I refer to it, renders clearer for me the actual individual Whom I had never directly met but regularly communicated with, over a topic if mutual interest to both of us.

    My sincerest thanks for these insights that were provided in this latest article on the Ades family. There is little more that can be added.

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About Geoff 123
Geoff Leonard was born in Bristol. He spent much of his working career in banking but became an independent record producer in the early nineties, specialising in the works of John Barry and British TV theme compilations.
He also wrote liner notes for many soundtrack albums, including those by John Barry, Roy Budd, Ron Grainer, Maurice Jarre and Johnny Harris. He co-wrote two biographies of John Barry in 1998 and 2008, and is currently working on a biography of singer, actor, producer Adam Faith.
He joined the Internet Movie Data-base (www.imdb.com) as a data-manager in 2001 and looked after biographies, composers and the music-department, amongst other tasks. He retired after nine years loyal service in order to continue writing.