We are very sad to report the death on 23 August 2022 of a dear friend, Brenda Ferris, former Chair and long term Trustee of ncas. We convey our condolences and thanks to her family & friends. Our thoughts and memories of Brenda are expressed perfectly by Robert Short, fellow former Chair and ncas Trustee for many years.
"Like the rest of you, I was bowled over to learn of Brenda's sudden death last Tuesday. She had seemed so self-sufficient, and only a week or so ago was still enjoying one of her favourite pursuits: 'birding' at the Cley saltmarshes reserve.
Brenda was a pillar of the NCAS as a Trustee for decades. In 2013, she succeeded Keith Roberts as Chair. We counted on her passionately engaged presence to such a degree that we all felt the palpable loss when she resigned from the committee in 2021. That she was also a Norwich City Councillor for much of this time - not to mention Sheriff, Mayor and Deputy Lieutenant of the County! - enhanced the profile of the Society. That our biennial fund-raising auctions could be held in the Council Chamber of City Hall was owed to that too. Among numerous local arts causes, Brenda was particularly a champion of public sculpture in Norwich: think Bernard Reynolds, Ros Newman, Jonathan Clark, the Poiriers....
My family and I have been fortunate enough to have Brenda and her children as friends for the last fifty-five years, taking in plenty of holidays at home and abroad. We've had so much fun together. And no one should forget the fun that Brenda helped bring to the everyday life of the NCAS over all these years. When you're next in City Hall, go and take a look in a corridor on the first floor at David Chedgey's 1990s group portrait titled 'The Alibi Crowd' which prominently features Brenda in the joyful company of some twenty fellow art lovers at their revels!”
The funeral arrangements for Brenda are:
Thursday 15 September, 11.00am at Norwich Crematorium, 2.30pm at St Peter Mancroft Church.
Photo of Brenda, taken in January 2012 at an artist’s preview evening. Credit: Archant.