Thomas William Birch

Thomas William Birch

Eternally my hero and Guardian Angel

His spirit will forever guide us.


He never failed to do his best his heart was true & tender, he simply lived for those he loved, and those he loved remember

Funeral Service
for Tam Birch
Wednesday 25th March 2009


Opening music – Alan to play ‘Amazing Grace’ on pipes followed by Bette Midler’s ‘Wind beneath my wings’
Opening Words
Dear friends, on behalf of all of Alice, Caroline and Alan, Andrew and Claire, and all the grand children; Emma, Callan, Chloe and Callum and on behalf of Tam’s sisters and brother; Ian, Hilda and Margaret and all the family including Alison, Mark and Rhoda - can I please welcome you here as we gather to celebrate the life, the love and the goodness of one of life’s free and generous spirits, Tam Birch or Bicky as many of you knew him and loved him.

And can I say right from the beginning that although today is a sad and difficult day, we are not going to have a sad service. There is too much to be thankful for, too many good memories and on top of that, Tam just deserves to have a service that reminds us of all the reasons why he was so loved and why he will be missed.

He’ll certainly be missed for having such a free and open mind, open to all the joys and mysteries of the natural and the spiritual world. He’ll be missed for that charm and that aura, that magnetism he had about him. And he will certainly be missed for that comforting, secure and reassuring presence he had about him particularly at Christmas. He was Mr Christmas, his generosity was beyond measure as was wonderful almost childlike excitement to start buying the presents and the decorations two months early and to start singing that song ‘Silver Bells’ usually sometime within the last week of October.

He was a lovely man, Tam, and I know that’s often said at funerals but in Bicky’s case it was absolutely true and I am sure if he was here today he would still be saying that he had a good and happy life and that we shouldn’t be totally sad today, but we should still go on enjoying life, living life and that there are very few things in life that can’t be overcome with a positive attitude and supportive family and friends. He actually told Caroline not so long ago that he had no regrets and was ready for his next mission, which Tam believed was going to be somewhere in Shropshire. I am sure many people knew that Tam had many thoughts and beliefs including reincarnation and he will never be far away, he will always be near his family to guide and support them as he always did.

Today is our chance to tell Tam that we are so glad that he not only came into our lives but will always be there in our lives. That is one of the great truths we celebrate today; that although people die, the love we have for them does not.

Poem

Our Father kept a garden.
A garden of the heart;
He planted all the good things,
That gave our lives their start.

He turned us to the sunshine,
And encouraged us to dream:
Fostering and nurturing the seeds of self-esteem.

And when the winds and rain came,
He protected us enough;
But not too much because he knew
We would stand up strong and tough.

His constant good example,
Always taught us right from wrong;
Markers for our pathway that will last
a lifetime long.

We are our Fathers garden,
We are his legacy.
Thank you Dad we love you.

Hymn

Verses 1, 3 & 5 will be used.

1. The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want
He makes me down to lie
in pastures green
He leadeth me, the quiet waters by

2. My soul He doth restore again
and me to walk doth make
within the paths of righteousness
e’en for his own name sake

3. Yea though I walk in death’s dark vale
yet will I fear no ill
For thou art with me and thy rod
and staff me comfort still

4. My table though hast furnished
in presence of my foes
my head thou dost with oil anoint
and my cup overflows

5. Goodness and mercy all my days
shall surely follow me
and in God’s house for evermore
my dwelling place shall be







Tam Birch – A Tribute

If you ask anyone who knew Tam as a young man growing up in North Queensferry and they will tell you that he always had a great interest in nature, the outdoor world, the mystical and superstitious worlds and birds; that’s birds both of the feathered variety and the other one. He would genuinely tell you that he had a great childhood and was himself given a lot of freedom to explore and learn about life. He would explore the beaches, climbs the rocks, fish the seas and sometimes just go off camping for days at a time. He always had that free spirit about him, always had lots of friends and was one of those young people who others were drawn to because of his charismatic and magnetic personality, well it was either that or people liked that homemade shampoo he made or were interested in what he thought of the latest Dennis Wheatley book he had read.

As Rhoda will tell you, there was just something special about Tam when she first met him. I’m not just talking about the long dark hair, the long black cloaks, the piercing blue eyes, and the go-go dancing at Nicky Tams in Edinburgh he was just different from everyone else. And had he lived another 30 or 40 years would have been one of those eccentric old men who could probably still enthral you with tales of blackbirds suddenly appearing at the back door or tales of what great fun you can have, no matter your age, with all those toy water pistols and stickers that comics and magazines give away for free. But what you might not have got was the explanation as to where the name Bicky came from. This is, I believe, is a mystery that will remain unsolved forever.

But what will not be a mystery, what will forever be known is that Tam was a one off who, for example, allowed Caroline to be a free spirit and have these wild parties where holes would appear in the plaster work and empty beer cans would find a new home under Tam’s pillow and yet Tam wouldn’t get too flustered or worried. He was a great believer in allowing his children to be their own free spirits. They have witnessed their dad paint a tree in the garden a lovely bright orange and seen him come to their rescue should they get stranded somewhere and need a hero to come and rescue them. And that is why Tam was very much to Caroline and Andrew a hero, a cool dad. Apparently it was a bit embarrassing at times that some of Caroline’s friends noted the fact that he was a good looking man or that he could be a bit flirtatious with the ladies. But that what made Tam Tam. He was one of those people who wanted to teach his children the importance of following your own instincts and creativity, to see that everything in life has a purpose and if you open your eyes and really look, really look at life and all its beauty and mystery, you will see that there is nothing superficial about any of it.

Tam always believed that life had a purpose and he was here for a specific purpose and reason. The greatest purpose of course being the best dad he could possibly be to Caroline and Andrew and the best worker he could possibly be. Because that is something that will always be said about Bicky, that as much as he was a free spirit in every other aspect of his life, he was one of the most disciplined and hard working men the paper mill had ever known. He was absolutely devoted to his job and work his way up from the age of 15 as what was called a laddie, to being a highly respected manager. He actually adored his work and despite the times, as Alan might recall when working at Lexmark, he would go in the cream puff if he couldn’t get his holiday dates. He was a great worker as lots of people here today could no doubt testify. Yes he could be fiery, yes it is true that nephews in the family were sometimes threatened that they would get a visit from their Uncle Bicky to sort them out and yes there were times when he was not slow in expressing his emotions but he had a very generous heart and would do anything for his family, including running over to your house and calming you down should some spider decide he wanted to come and make home in your nice warm house that day.

These are qualities that no doubt attracted both Rhoda and Alice to Tam. Alice will tell you, he found joy in giving and would go out of his way to help people and loved to share his vast knowledge and wisdom with Alison and Mark and their children, he was very open minded about everything and never judged you and as Alison said he was like the spiritual and material guide to the family. I’m not at all surprised why people like Caroline called him ‘my hero’ because he was the kind of person who said the right things, who was always there for you, who could fix anything and was like your security blanket. That constant and reassuring presence as his car drove up outside your house as he explained to you the significance of feather he had just found was like no other.

Tam was like no other. No one else made contraptions for his dog Laddie like he did, not many people in this world would tell you that they have been here many times before and they will come back and not many people have such an influence in your life that you’ll still be out there tomorrow and next week watering all their seedlings and plants in his greenhouse.

Tam has touched a lot of people’s hearts and has left so many good and precious memories from Tam and his good pal Joe Pick being affectionately known within the family as Fred and Barney for continuously trying to out-do each other, to memories of Tam always encouraging you not to worry and to chill. ‘What does it matter?’ he would say to Caroline. And I know from stories that are still told about his days in the paper mill that you should even worry if you don’t know the time, don’t know what day it is and don’t have a light. Even when Tam was diagnosed with his illness he didn’t worry and had the perspective and humility to say, ‘I’ve lived 56 excellent years and I am happy and proud that my family are all settled and doing well now’. He was at peace with himself and he didn’t fear death. Sure he might have still wanted to have collected a few more stamps, put a few more lines on at the bookies and starred in a few more DVD’s as he toured the country with Alice, Stewarty, Pam and wee Ian, but he had no regrets about life. He was happy that Andrew and Caroline had found good partners in Claire and Alan. They too will have happy memories of a man who brought you flowers and cuddles and called you darling, that was Claire by the way he called darling not Alan. Everyone here will have special memories of Tam, and as we have already said Tam will always be near, he’ll never be far away. Pigeons, cats, gypsies even busy bees all spring to mind here. Tam will live in our hearts our minds and our story telling for many years and many more reincarnated lived to come, he will still be your guide and your hero, your friend and your Mr. Christmas. You rest in peace now Tam, you rest in peace.



Words at the committal

Before we come to this moment when we say our final farewells to Tam, perhaps we could pause for a moment or two in the silence of our hearts and thank Bicky for his life, his love and his friendship

Short pause followed by these words

Thank you Tam
Thank you for all the good times, the fun times and the happy memories
Thank you for your love and your friendship
We thank you for what you taught us about life
Thank you for what you have taught your family about life and the bigger picture
And we thank you most of all Bicky for just being you
You have filled your niche in this world and accomplished your tasks
And you leave this world, and all of us richer, because of you.

Tam Birch

Your life we honour
Your departure we accept
Your memory we cherish
Rest now at the end of your days
Your work is done
Rest in the hearts and minds of all who love you
And if we can ever learn from his experience in life
Or profit from his example
Perhaps we can live better lives for having known him