The Sue Ryder Care (Ireland)

The Founder 

Lady Sue Ryder of Warsaw CMG., OBE

 

Charity Founder Baroness Ryder dies

The Charity worker Baroness Ryder of Warsaw has died, aged 77.

Lady Ryder was the Founder of the charity – Sue Ryder Foundation, which operates homes for the sick and disabled.

The widow of World War II hero Group Captain Leonard Cheshire had been ill for some time and was admitted to hospital in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in January.

Lady Ryder opened her first home in 1952, and the following year set up the Sue Ryder Foundation.

The Sue Ryder Foundation, now called Sue Ryder Care, with 24,000 Volunteers world wide.

 Lady Ryder, the youngest of five children, was born in Leeds to parents who were both landed gentry.

In 1939, at age of 16, Lady Ryder volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, but was soon working with the Special Operations Executive set up by Churchill to co-ordinate Resistance activities.

 After the war she volunteered to do relief work in France and Poland.

‘Great Loss’

In a statement on Friday 3rd November 2000, “The Board of The Sue Ryder Foundation (Ireland) Ltd, have learned with great sadness of the death of their founder, Lady Ryder.”

“They realise that the passing of this exceptional human being will also be mourned by the innumerable supporters, sympathisers and fellow workers who shared Lady Ryder’s vision of a more compassionate and humane world and were inspired by her lifelong commitment to the relief of suffering.

“The Board express their sympathy to Lady Ryder’s family for their great loss, and to all those admirers of Lady Ryder’s life and work for whom the world will be a sadder and emptier place”.

The Statement said the Sue Ryder Foundation would continue to function in line with the “principles she respected”.

Lady Ryder lost her husband, founder of the Leonard Cheshire charity which runs homes for the disabled, in 1992 after more than 40 years of marriage.

She is survived by a son, Jeremy Cheshire and daughter Dr. Elizabeth Cheshire.

 

PARTNERSHIP

Faith, Love and Charity

Baroness Sue Ryder and Groups Captain, Leonard Cheshire of the Cheshire Homes, (whom Nehru describe as “The Greatest Man I have met since Ghandi”), their combined campaign for the relief of suffering, remains unparalleled.  Whose courage, compassion, determination and above all, faith, have left a legacy of achievements and influence which spans the world.

The following prayer was composed by them prior to their wedding in 1959….

 

Usque Ad Mortem – Unto Death

To thee, O my God

Who art infinite love

Yet who hast called us to be perfect, even as

Thou art perfect:

Who so loved the World,

That Thou didst give us

Thine only begotten Son,

 And who hast thereby given

Thine all, Thine everything:

Who emptied Thyself of Thy Glory,

And become obedient unto death

Even the death of the cross,

For us;

To Thee;

We surrender our all, our everything,

To be consumed by the unquenchable fire of Thy Love:

We desire to love Thee even as Thy own Mother loved Thee,

To be generous as Thou only art generous,

To give our all to Thee as Thou givest Thine to us:

Thou hast called us, O Lord, and we have found Thee

In the poor, the unwanted, and the suffering,

And there we will serve Thee unto death.

  

‘This is as relevant now, as it was then’.