Words

It goes without saying that my wonderful, incredible Husband, Mr. John Ellis was amazing, a Legend....

Cage and Aviary Birds magazine have printed, in their 6th June 2012 edition, an obituary and a tribute to John.

Here they are (click on the picture to see a bigger version):

The Tribute:

The Obituary:

Today, I also received an email from a very good friend, also a colleague of John's, someone who worked with John every day, spent almost as much time with him as I did and got extremely drunk with him on too regular an occasion! 

Sometimes, it's easy to forget that others outside of the immediate family are also, in their own way, grieving the loss of John. In this email was a poem he had written and he has given me permission to publish it here for you to read. I think out of all the words I have read about John, these are by far the most fitting and are a very worthy tribute to my Man.

Mr. Habben, I love you. 

Thank you from the bottom of my broken heart, thank you.

To a Friend

I wish you were with us physically

But when I open my eyes, you are really,

In peace your magic is not gone, 

it's re-lived through every song, 

of every bird we stop to hear, 

the music that out lives our tears

I will never hear a bird without thinking of you, 

see trees and nature, these things you knew,

When I feel that life is unfair, absurd, 

I reflect your life and love of birds, 

this comfort works to dry my tears 

you are all around us and through the years, 

you've shaped the place in which we grew, 

you made a kingdom I hope you knew, 

a palace built to keep us smiling 

you've made life better without trying.

Your laughter echoes everywhere you've been,
The peaks and valleys that you've seen,
it's been the very finest song 

it lit the World we look upon.

If I think of what we've all achieved 

I think of you, you believed, 

in all of your friends, your family your man, 

you helped us change  "we can't" tou can

I thank you for what you've given me, 

a sense of life's priorities

Not an office, not within it, 

you knew to live for every minute, 

there was no sense, never a reason 

not to cherish every season, 

every place and moment you cared for most, 

the ones you loved always close.

now if I am sad I know I must,
remember that you are all of us
You changed our lives, you shaped us all, 

you made us happy, we had a ball
You wouldn't let us drop our guard, 

you wouldn't let our lives be hard
A laugh, a hug some great advice, 

you showed us how to live a life
It can throw out lemons but we'll now laugh

Pour a gin upon it and raise a glass, 

to a teacher a mentor an inspiration