We were shocked to hear of the death of Beryl Handford, the wife of Mike Handford, a former chairman of Rochford District and Rayleigh Town Councils. Beryl was born in London in 1938, and moved with Mike to Rayleigh in 1964.
Beryl was a person who always thought about others, and so worked so hard for others , not for a little while, but for many years! Her outstanding efforts for local voluntary organisations were recognised by Rochford Council in the 2003 ?Citizen of the Year ? Community Spirit? award. This recognised her decades of work for:
In 1977 she joined the Rayleigh Liberal Association, becoming an Executive Committee member, a post she held until 2005.
To quote former counciloor Richard Boyd:
?Beryl was an example of selfless voluntary service, putting more into society than she ever sought to take out.
The Town is the richer for her work, and thousands of residents received help, meals, and support from her in
the decades she lived in Rayleigh?
Beryl is survived by her husband, Mike, and 3 grandchildren (Anthony, Nathan, and Stephanie) and of course our thoughts are with them .