At the funeral service on 21st August Gwynneth Keehner, our Vice Chair, read the following tribute she had written.
Tribute to Susan Cottrell
I have known Susan and David for a long time – not quite a lifetime, but for about 40 years, since we met when we all joined the then-very-new South Western Great Dane Club. Within no time at all, the three of us were on the South Western Committee, where we’ve been ever since!
What I didn’t know then was that this was to be the start of Susan’s amazing career in showing, breeding and judging Great Danes.
What I did recognise, from the moment I met her, was that this was a very special lady – bright, strong of character and so gracious. She personified “grace”, more than anyone I have ever met. And the years have proved me right – she was a very special lady. I can say, from the bottom of my heart, that the South-Western has been incredibly fortunate, indeed blessed, to have had Susan as a life-time member. Her knowledge, her wisdom and her commitment are just a few of the characteristics which have added so much to the success of the South-Western – to is shows, to its social life, indeed to its very integrity. And these were some of the character traits which were to take Susan on to become a successful and much- sought-after judge, of her breed and others. In Great Danes she judged at Championship level, both here and internationally. After her first visit to Scandanavia she was offered repeated judging appointments in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Holland, which she and David visited on numerous occasions.
At the heart of it all was Susan’s immense love and respect for the breed she adored and championed – her beloved Great Danes.
Susan’s memory was phenomenal, her paperwork meticulous – and she had a PRESENCE! I’m sure you know what I mean. In committee her’s was always a measured voice of reason. You could be sure that her input and her advice would always be thoughtful and sound – and she was not a prima donna! She has been a valued presence on our committee for so long, and has been a wonderful ambassador for the Club and for our breed….. We will miss her so much.
On a personal level I shall miss her so much. I am so grateful to have had her friendship. I feel priveleged to have been a regular visitor to Bere Farm. It was always a pleasure to sit in that welcoming farmhouse kitchen, with Susan filling me in on Great Dane “stuff” - never gossip; she had too much integrity for that – but news, because she was in the show scene, and I was not. And one of the joys was being surrounded by some of the house-dogs, who have shared Susan’s life and home over these four decades – all lovely, gentle characters, as you grew to expect from her careful breeding. They were also outstanding show dogs, among them the best black of all time, Berevale Gilpin, still the record holder today.
Susan’s generous hospitality meant that Bere Farm had lots of visitors, many of them staying for days, if not weeks! Bill and Iris Spurin, founders of the South-Western, stayed at Bere when they were between homes. They stayed for five or six weeks, with seven Great Danes – that was hospitality and love indeed!
Susan had a mischievous sense of humour. This never left her, even when her body was failing. She was in charge of her life and her illness until the end. She knew just the right moment to leave her beloved Bere, where she had been for the whole of her married life, to go for her final care to the Hospice. As she was leaving, it was suggested that she might need a blanket over her, and David was dispatched to find one. He hunted one down, and it was laid over Susan – and she began to laugh. The blanket which warmed her as she left home for the last time had, printed across it, “Best opposite sex”. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it should have said “Best in Show”! Susan was the best!!
- Gwynneth Keehner - 21/08/17