This wonderful portrait of dear Joe Downing was taken by Brice Toul, a professional photographer (obviously!) who lives in our village. Brice was among the crowd of people that gathered in front of our church to say goodbye to Joe, and my dad asked him if I could share this picture with you, and Brice said yes. Thank you, Brice!
It was a very nice tribute. Our mayor spoke about how important Joe was to the village, and how he touched so many lives, and he read out a letter of condolence from the American ambassador in Paris. And then Philip Hughes, a famous artist who’s had a house in the village forever, spoke very movingly about his long, long friendship with Joe.
And while all this was going on, the sun came out of a rain-soaked sky to make a beautiful rainbow, almost as colourful as one of Joe’s paintings. I think Joe painted it for us, to make us feel a little less sad.
It was a very nice tribute. Our mayor spoke about how important Joe was to the village, and how he touched so many lives, and he read out a letter of condolence from the American ambassador in Paris. And then Philip Hughes, a famous artist who’s had a house in the village forever, spoke very movingly about his long, long friendship with Joe.
And while all this was going on, the sun came out of a rain-soaked sky to make a beautiful rainbow, almost as colourful as one of Joe’s paintings. I think Joe painted it for us, to make us feel a little less sad.
1 comment:
Thank you for posting this, it's really cool to see. Joe was my great uncle and I haven't seen him since I was a kid. I wish I knew him better, he was an amazing man.
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