Pip died yesterday about 5pm. It was not a quick or easy death. She had been diagnosed with Non Small Cell Lung Cancer last Christmas, with secondaries in the liver, spine & bones. She would have been 43 on the 25th of July.
She was a remarkable woman in many ways, unusually empathetic, kind & loving. Life had never been easy for her. The Cancer which killed her was caused by earlier chemotherapy when she had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma years ago. Obviously life's blows shape our personality, but there was more to Pip than that. She had never become cynical, bitter or distrusting. She supported me through my husband's coma in ITU, subsequent death & funeral. But also continued that support untill she became too ill in the last week & a half. Not many people are capable of that.
Pip was highly intelligent & worked in Education as a university lecturer & teacher. Generations of students will be all the better for having been taught by Pip.We loved discussing politics & ethics & were of very much the same mind on issues. One of her favourite TV programmes was "The West Wing" which she introduced me to. Pip was a really ethical person in a world where that is becoming more and more unusual.
Pip was always very positive and fun loving. One of my best memories will be of the holiday we had sharing an apartment in Lanzerote last year. It was really great, cooking meals together every night & sharing several glasses of wine. Not a single cross word or problem, despite our age difference. How many people can you go on holiday with and say that?
I loved Pip and thought of her as a second daughter, especially as her mother died when she was in her teens. I knew her for over 30 years. I remember coming home early from holiday, when she and Maryon my daughter were teenagers staying in my house. They had obviously had a couple of boys staying & were highly embarrassed. Looking back neither of them were ever anything other than lovely girls, no huge rebellion, no drugs, no real cause for worry.
Maryon and I will miss Pip hugely. She will be a great loss to her sister Becky and her family. She loved them all a great deal. She was a great aunty, what a shame she won't be there to see the boys grow in to men. Maybe she will from afar - I'm not religious, so who knows.
Goodness should be remembered. Thank you for sharing this
ReplyDeleteI was taught by Ms Sherrington and I am very sad to hear that she has passed away. She was a lovely woman and a fabulous inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI was taught by Dr Sherrington for the past year and a half. She was the most inspiring person I have ever met and the best teacher I have ever had. My condolences to her family at this difficult time.
ReplyDeleteI was only taught by her for a term, but she was one of the most amazing people I have ever met. A true inspiration. R.I.P.
ReplyDeleteThese are beautiful words, I was Philippa's teaching assitant at Warwick in 2002, it was clear to me that the Warwick students absolutely adored her.
ReplyDeleteIt's so lovely to get these posts. I'm really pleased to hear that my feelings about Pip are shared. Not at all surprised about the impact she had on students. Thank you all.
ReplyDeleteVal
I was a colleague of Pip's for several years at Warwick. She also became a cherished friend. Your post captures Pip perfectly. Aside from being the finest educator I will ever meet, she oozed human warmth. A lovely person. And the world is a lesser place without her.
ReplyDeleteI heard this weekend from a friend that Dr Sherrington had passed away. I was a student of hers at Warwick nearly a decade ago and remember her often. The news of her passing saddened me terribly, I can only think of how many hundreds of people will feel the same. She was a remarkable teacher and I doubt she ever realised just how many lives she positively influenced. Your words were a beautiful tribute.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your lovely memories. My daughter was taught by Dr Sherrington for a year at Hills Road where she was an inspirational and highly supportive teacher. I attened the Memorial meeting that was held at Hills Road Sixth Form College this evening, which was a lovely event to remember Dr Sherington by. On the way home my daugher that Dr Sherrington had been one of her role models. I hope that the memory of her will continue to be a role model for my daughter as she embarks on her university education. May she rest in peace. Sincere condolences to her family and friends
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful to think that Pip will live on in the memories of her family & friends and all the students that she taught over so many years.
ReplyDeleteVal
I had met Pip in Brussels in 1992 and stayed in touch with her for a few years. She was really, really fantastic in so many ways, this is all I can say right now. God, this is terrible news.
ReplyDeleteStefano
i loved her with all my heart. pip was hard working,hard playing, sensous, beautiful.i have many photographs and memories,to becky and her family i wish them only the future.the last time we spoke was 4 years ago when my little sis was diagnosed with terminal cancer,she sadly died in jan 08.pip and carla were born two weeks apart both leonine.i never got the chance to say goodbye to pip.it is a very sad day.i shall miss her.twinkle twinkle little star you better make it with floating free l'anarchie.remember notting hill carnival, glastonbury,the monumentin newbury,great times. til next time.may the road rise with you.roger.xx
ReplyDeletePip always showed me more kindness than I ever deserved. A beautiful soul who brought light into my life xx
ReplyDeleteI've only just come across this blog and wanted to add a note of my own. I worked with Philippa (as I knew her) for a number of years - she was my boss and became a good friend. I was so sad when she died and I miss her still now. It's lovely to read all of these words which very much reflect the person that I knew - a kind, brave and wonderful woman.
ReplyDeleteI taught and published with Pip at Warwick and visited her near Cambridge in the last months of her life. She was a highly valued colleague and great friend, and easily the strongest person I have ever known. She has left a powerful legacy of learning and inspiration, and very few of us will achieve that. I wish her the deep peace of the eternal calm.
ReplyDeleteI was reminded of Dr Sherrington, simply by someone having a similar name in a news article, I googled her name to see where she was working these days. I was shocked to this article, she taught me at Queens Belfast in 1998-99 in EU studies. She was a great teacher, condolences to her family and friends. RIP.
ReplyDeleteMuch as above I was driven to search for Pip (listening to REM) and came to this post. Equally I am saddened at the loss of such a wonderful individual. The world is a less interesting place without her.
ReplyDeleteI met Pip in London while she was an undergrad at Manchester. I was immediately smitten. Pip encouraged - no inspired me and I return to complete my own education and we stayed good friends for about 5 years but lost touch while she was in Preston.
My wife also knew her and when we had a daughter we both chose the name Pip based on our fond memories of our beautiful childhood friend.
Sleep well, sweet dreams.
The fact that I have received so many reponses to my blog about Pip shows just what a wonderful person she was. She touched a lot of people's lives & always in a positive way. She was a great friend & surrogate daughter. She is much missed.
ReplyDeleteI am so upset right now. Philippa was my advisor for my bachelor thesis at Warwick. She was simply wonderful, and she was all you could ever wish for in a teacher. She has been my role model through the last couple of years in which I have started teaching university students myself. I fondly remember the trip to Brussels she organized for her fellow EU-fanatic undergrads at Warwick.Any time I think about my future as an academic and teacher I consider what Philippa would say, what advice she would give me. I lost contact with her when she left Warwick, and I have always regretted that. Every couple of years I would google her name to see if I could find contact details, but tonight's search turned up this site, a site I really wish didn't have to exist. My thoughts are with her friends and family, and all the other people whose lives she touched and who now miss her.
ReplyDelete-- Andrea
Pip lives on in so many people's memories. Few of us have that sort of long lasting positive impact. She was a very special person.
ReplyDeleteI am very sad to discover that Philippa / Pip has gone. I was looking to get back in touch. We were childhood friends and we lost touch after we turned 18. I tracked her down whilst she was at Warwick. We were both amazed that we had both turned out academics! I was going through a bad time and didn't stay in touch. A huge regret. I was looking for her again to try and explain when I found this news. We had a lovely summer in Wales and Berkshire in 1979 just before we started high school. Our birthdays were one day apart! You remember the special people who touch your heart despite the passage of time x
ReplyDeleteThe fact that Pip keeps getting hits just shows what an impact she made on so many people. She was a lovely person & I'm glad people remember her with affection.
ReplyDeleteSad news just tumble down like that. I was googling the name of Philippa this morning; like I did 11 or 12 years ago; just to get some news about her life but this horrible association of words came first: ‘Philippa Sherrington Death’.
ReplyDeleteI met Pip in 1991 at the University of Colchester. We were both attending classes of the ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques. I was a research assistant in those days. I remember she was the shining center of our little group of students. One day; my wife called me to tell she was pregnant. At the same time; Pip heard that a friend of hers was dead from cancer. She was stricken with sorrow but she wanted to celebrate my good news. We shared some bottles of wine that night. She told me about her mother and the feeling of death walking behind her. She said something about her fate being to die young. I thing this kind of a meeting between birth and death impressed her by some way.
She came to us twice in Brussels. At her second visit our daughter was around one year old. There must be some photographs of Pip feeding Céline with chocolate cake. I remember me staring at both girls and telling myself how much I would like Céline to become such a beautiful, free-minded woman. Well; she did. Céline is 23 years old now; Philippa’s age when I met her for the first time.
We lost contact for a long time. Round 2005 I googled her name to discover she was a lecturer in Warwick. We exchanged some e.mails. She told me about her Leukemia; about her sister’s family; her nephews. We promised to each other to meet when she would come again in Brussels. I guess she came but didn’t call. I would have liked Céline to meet her. She was luminous.
Serge.
Pip touched many people's lives. To date there have been 619 viewings of my Blog about her death. Unsurprisingly she seems to have been universally loved. She lives on in the memories of her friends, colleagues & family.
ReplyDeleteI just searched for Philippa's name in Google, as she inspired me so much when she taught at Warwick in the early 2000s. My love of the EU came from her enthusiasm for it, and I felt she would be taking it has hard today as I have. I am very saddened to hear that she passed away.
ReplyDeleteThoughts of you today....tearful, sadly missed. Good times, sunshine. We no Shrinking Violets ! True friends ,believers , truth sages are hard come by. Hold them close and dear. x For Pip. In my heart always.Roger.
ReplyDeletePip is in so many hearts. Such a wonderful teacher & friend. I would love to be able to talk to her about the current political situation.
ReplyDeleteI have just googled Phillipa's name for the first time since graduating from Warwick in 2004. I am so saddened to hear she died so young, and such a long time ago.
ReplyDeleteOver the years i have thought about what an amazing teacher she was. I was a struggling student, and she went to such efforts to help me through my final exams. I would not have passed without her. What she did was beyond what could be expected of any teacher. I often thought about writing to thank her, and now so wish I had. My sincere condolences to her family and friends. She will not be forgotten.
It is wonderful that Pip's memory remains vivid in so many people whose lives she touched. She was an amazing woman.
DeleteI miss a beautiful friend. You better make it with
ReplyDeletefloating free l`anarchie. Turn your head up to the
morning sun...yeah. Ozrics Rog. Birfdays `n`all. xxx
I was taught by Dr Sherrington in Hills Road. I'm pretty sure one of the comments up there is probably by me. I think of her often and just wanted to revisit this blog to read about her all again. I was awarded with the first ever Phillipha Sherrington Prize and till this day, it is my most prized accolade. I will never forget her and her influence on me. May you continue to rest in peace.
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