Page 46 - The Old Ratcliffian 2012

T The Old Ratclifan 2012 | Introductionhe Old Ratclifan 2012 | Obituaries Michelle Carolynn Cammish ‘Gingey’ Old Ratcliffian 1991-98 23rd October 1979-29th August 2012 Michelle Cammish sadly died this year from cancer. She attended both Grace Dieu and Ratcliffe, where she was a boarder. Her funeral was a Humanist ceremony which took place at the Crematorium in Sutton Coldfield. The funeral was attended by several Old Ratcliffians, many of whom were from her year. These included Ginny O’Keefe (née Gamble) (98), Karen Grace (née Kruger) (00), Suzy Tweddle (98), Rachel Mackenzie (née Jones) (96), Ruth Jones (96) and Ben O’Connor (98). Fr Philip Sainter (69) and Mrs Teresa Gamble also attended, having taught Michelle whilst she was a student at Ratcliffe. Michelle’s brother, Christopher (95), is also an Old Ratcliffian. The following extracts are from the Eulogy given by Michelle’s father, Robin Cammish: “In each of the many chapters in her life, Michelle developed some very special relationships with friends that she held dear to her heart, and they have endured. Growing up, it was a special sibling relationship with Chris. Michelle’s adventurous streak and strong will used to make Michelle was a boarder at Ratcliffe College for seven years travelling with her interesting. Cammish family holidays and she formed three more enduring relationships which were normally more bizarre than most families’ summer have lasted and grown through to today. Michelle loved the vacations because they had the world to play in. They twins, Ruth and Rachel Jones, and Jenny Coomber (98), remember when they were on the company houseboat for a who now lives in Madrid. She loved them to her core for week on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe - it was a motor cruiser over twenty one years; they were always there for her when complete with a local captain. They went cruising up and she needed them and she always put them first using her down having a close up view of elephants and water buffalo famous catchphrase, ‘It’s all good’, to overcome problems. as they drank and grazed, and in the process they got used to avoiding two tonne hippos that wanted to play ‘mate Life was always lively and active when Michelle was around; she was very bright and full of beans, she was with the boat’ on a regular basis. They all had an enormous strong willed almost to the point of being feisty, and she argument with Michelle, telling her that she must wear her was very determined when she wanted something. life jacket, which in hot tropical weather was a real drag, but it is just as well that they managed to persuade her to When she was eight, the Cammish family moved to put one on. Chris was having a go at being captain and Australia for two and a half years and, as with everything in was driving the boat as fast and erratically as he could and her life, Michelle took it in her stride. At the age of nine she had it running at full speed. Michelle was bored and was came back to the UK to board at Grace Dieu with Melissa larking about at the back of the boat showing off and she and Chris; she was doing over one hundred thousand flying did the big leap to nowhere and fell in the water. It was miles every year and she adopted her natural role as leader only by good fortune that her dad turned around to see her of the family. Her parents used to wave goodbye to the small ginger head bobbing in the water, waving hard whilst three children at Sydney airport and Michelle, the smallest, rapidly receding into the distance as Chris drove as fast as would take charge and navigate the three of them around he could into the far horizon. Luckily they did a U-turn and the world wearing her back-pack with an ‘unaccompanied literally fished her out so that she could continue to run the minor’ tag on it. family for the rest of the holiday. By the age of ten, Michelle was a seasoned international So, by the age of eleven, Michelle had travelled more than traveller, having clocked up over three hundred thousand most of the rest of us will ever travel in our lifetimes. Her flying miles, all earned in the days before TV screens were idea of a perfect holiday was not to travel the planet to in seat backs and you could play e-games en route, so the exotic places, or charge off to Spain for two weeks in the journeys were long and tedious for a precocious ten year sun - she hated hot weather - she had been there and old. The cabin crew on long haul flights never had a chance done all of that at a tender age. That is probably why she if Michelle wanted something. The combination of ginger had such a strong love of home and was a zealot and hair, freckles, and a sweet smile always got her what she perfectionist when it came to creating her perfect home wanted when travelling. environment. Her house was a special place to Michelle. 46 46