She was a very sentient and kind person who felt the pain of others and reached out to console them. She was a fervent daily mass attending Catholic who led the rosary and prayers in her local Catholic parish church.
After graduating with a Science degree, from the University of Ceylon, she first taught Chemistry in the Sixth form at Good Shepherd Convent, Kotahena. Later she came to the UK with me and our young son to complete her Accountancy studies in as little a time as possible. She was married and had a son and daughter, who are themselves married and have given her the pride and joy of three loving grandsons.
She had a varied and successful career in financial management in different parts of the world, having worked in senior positions with GEC in Leicester, the Ceylon Transport Board, Timber Merchants of Zambia in Lusaka, George Wimpey PLC in London and with the prestigious Naval and Military Club for senior armed services officers in London. She had been a Financial Controller and Finance Manager and was a Fellow of two UK Chartered Accountancy bodies.
A loving, creative and accomplished woman but above all a caring wife and mother who loved Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was also creative and talented in cooking, cake making and icing, curtain making and anything that engaged her incisive mind and her active hands. It is indeed rare to find such a combination of goodness in one person and we have to thank the good Lord for blessing her.
She was the benign and motivating person behind me, as a loving wife and a selfless mother and proud grandmother. She was known as Emelda in school; and her Christian names were Emelda Joyce Indra which we think that people of her generation may well remember.
On behalf of my siblings, she will be dearly missed by her grieving sisters-in-law Sheila Emmanuel and Stella Joseph in Toronto as well as their families, along with those of the late Sylvia Emmanuel and Indra Swampillai in the UK.
May she rest in peace, Amen.
Ivan Pedropillai
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Please see the Expressions of Sympathy page for floral and other remembrances and a memorial endowment.
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Please send your messages and tributes via the "Messages and Tributes" page on this website. This will help us to collate these more easily for Mum and the family.
