Worthing Tabernacle church pianist celebrates 100th birthday and says faith in God has seen her through

Evelyn Gubbins celebrated her birthday on January 28 with a family meal and was overwhelmed with cards and flowers in her favourite colours. She is now looking forward to a party with her friends at Worthing Tabernacle, where she was the church pianist for many years until Covid put a stop to services.

Evelyn said: "I really am thankful for God and he has helped me through the years. My faith has been very important to me. I have been very, very thankful for everything I have got and the kindness of people. I have been very content."

Evelyn turned to the Tabernacle after her beloved husband Gerald died in March 1978 at the age of 60. The couple had run a stationers and a guest house in Worthing, as well as a Christian holiday home in Sidmouth, together. Evelyn said: "I was very devoted to my husband. It left a big hole."

The couple were married in September 1945 and had three children, Stephen, Andrew and Tim. Sadly, Andrew died suddenly after a heart attack in March 2021.

Evelyn is an only child, born in Fulham in 1923, and has moved a lot in her life, including a number of addresses in Worthing over the past 72 years. She served in the Land Army during the Second World War and very much enjoyed it but had to change to clerical work due to a skin condition.

She explained: "I love nature and the land but I get dermatitis from the soil so I had to go back to the office with the Civil Service. I was so upset, I just loved the fresh air and the outdoors and I am fond of nature."

After Evelyn's parents retired to Lancing, she started looking for a suitable stationers, as Gerald was keen to open a shop. Miraculously, she said, the Peter Wright shop in Rowlands Road became available at the last minute, so the family uprooted from Woking. The couple kept the trade name and ran the shop for five years.

Evelyn said: "We specialised in beautiful birthday cards. We picked every one by design. People would come from all over. But we weren't ruthless enough for business. Our accountant said we were too soft."

The couple then took on a guest house in Windsor Road but Eveylyn said it was too much for them. She explained: "I was so nervous of people. I have been a very, very shy person and as for cooking, I had hardly cooked an egg before I was married. It was tough but we enjoyed it, we just couldn't make a business of it."

Evelyn said it was the start of a very difficult time for the family, though the children always had a stable home. Gerald took whatever jobs he could, including clerical work and installing central heating, and she was working part-time at the Inland Revenue in Durrington.

Then the couple was asked to run a Christian holiday home in Sidmouth, though Evelyn was concerned for Gerald's health as he had had a heart attack. She said: "My husband was very lovable and he was laid back. To my utter astonishment, he said he would do it." Sadly, it proved to be too much for Gerald. He had another heart attack in March 1978 and died at the age of 60.

Evelyn returned to the family home in Worthing and decided she wanted 'to do something useful'. She became the pianist at Worthing Tabernacle soon after she joined the church and helped in its shop, Chapel Gift & Books, for many years. She said: "Our Christian belief was the main thing in life. It was a great help to me because I met people and I felt I was being a bit useful."

Evelyn has been playing piano since she was six years old and she was also a keen cyclist, from learning on a tricycle until her mid-80s. She has three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.