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| Tributes paid to blaze victim
determined to beat disability |
FAMILY, friends and drama students have said a final farewell
to blaze victim Clare Hope, who died earlier this month.
Carer Kim Bui – who was severely injured as she tried to carry
Ms Hope, a multiple sclerosis sufferer, to safety during the blaze
– came out of hospital to pay her respects to the woman renowned
for her determination.
Ms Hope, 62, a librarian at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts
(RADA), died when a fire raged through her fourth-floor flat in
Tonbridge House, Tonbridge Street, King’s Cross.
Her funeral service was held on Tuesday at The Church of the Holy
Cross in Cromer Street, which she attended every Sunday.
The Rev Robert Norwood paid tribute to the “avid theatregoer”.
He added: “Clare was a woman of great determination. In the
best possible sense, she had a way of getting her way and arranging
things in a way she thought was sensible, as did Clare of Assisi.
“St Clare was a woman who in later years suffered from huge
disability but carried on with her work, as did our friend Clare.”
Ms Hope’s brothers Charles and Robert, sister Elizabeth Rowe
and niece Rebecca Tippetts attended the service. Mr Norwood said:
“Her family remember her mother calling her mulish – the
early signs of a determination that would see her through much in
her later life.”
In a tribute read out by Mr Norwood, her brother Charles recalled
how, when her health was better, his sister would go to the theatre
daily, astonishing many RADA students as she took her place in the
audience at a far-off venue just to watch a young actor’s progress.
He added: “RADA were supremely kind to her and kept her on
to the very end. She knew the end was coming but refused to make
any concessions, even when her doctor pleaded with her to go to
hospital.
“She was not going to take the risk of them refusing to let
her out when there was still so much to do, so much to see and so
much to plan.”
The funeral was followed by a gathering at The Boot pub opposite
the church.
Proceeds from the church collection will go to an MS charity and
Starfish, a disabled swimming club, of which Ms Hope was a member.
RADA is holding a memorial service and celebration of Ms Hope’s
life on January 26, at a venue to be confirmed. |
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DO you enjoy or endure Christmas? It isn’t only that we’re
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