The Story of Michael Johns and Karen Johns
St Mary’s Church in Bideford is far more than a historic building of stone and stained glass. For many people, it is a place where faith grows, families gather, and generations find a sense of belonging.
For Michael Johns and his daughter Karen, St Mary’s has been a spiritual home woven into their lives. Though their journeys began decades apart, both have been shaped by the church community. Through joy, challenge, and deep difficulty, their faith has stayed a constant thread, connecting them to St Mary’s and each other.
Their story is not simply about attending church. It is about a lifetime of belonging.
Michael’s Story
The deep ties between faith, family, and a life rooted in Bideford come into focus.
Michael was born in North Devon Infirmary in Barnstaple, a building fondly remembered by locals. Soon after, Bideford became the home that shaped his life.
As a child, he lived just a short distance from the Bideford Town Mission in Lime Grove. The Mission played an important role in his early years, and he attended regularly, absorbing lessons and values that stayed with him throughout his life.
Yet one of the most defining and emotional moments in Michael’s life was meeting Marian, the woman who would become his lifelong companion.
Marian had come to Bideford on holiday, staying with her aunt and uncle in Park Lane. She was originally from Redcar in Yorkshire, where she had grown up attending the Anglican Church. Their meeting marked the beginning of a lifelong partnership.
Inspired by Marian’s faith, Michael decided to attend church himself.
What began simply as curiosity gradually became something deeper. Over time, the church became an important part of his life and identity.
Looking back, he reflects with quiet gratitude:
“Thanks be to God, I am still there and lucky to be a small part of what I consider to be a fine church family.”
Michael and Marian married in 1963, beginning a life of adventure and deep community roots.
Work, Friendship and Returning Home
Work soon took them away from Bideford for a time. The first five years of their married life were spent in Yate in South Gloucestershire, where Michael worked for the Central Electricity Generating Board.
His work initially connected him with the former East Yelland Power Station before he later moved to the regional headquarters in Clifton, Bristol.
During their time in Bristol, Michael formed several strong friendships. One of those friendships has lasted across decades and continents.
One of his close friends emigrated to Australia in 1970, yet their friendship endured despite the distance. Michael later discovered an amusing coincidence — his friend had been born just seven days before him.
Even today, they still keep in touch.
Thanks to modern technology, they speak occasionally on the telephone, and Michael says it often feels as though no time has passed at all.
“It never ceases to amaze me that it feels as though he lives just next door.”
Eventually, the pull of home brought Michael and Marian back to North Devon.
In 1968, they returned to Bideford, where Michael worked for the Braddicks Group of Companies for four years before moving in 1972 to the Western Counties Building Society — now known as Nationwide.
This position became one of his happiest working experiences.
Michael valued the friendly atmosphere at work, something he feels changed as the organisation grew and merged with others.
With a smile, he often says:
“Just my old-fashioned outlook.”
A Growing Family
While work was important, family was always at the heart of Michael’s life.
He and Marian built a life together that included two daughters. Over the years, their family grew further, bringing grandchildren and eventually great-grandchildren into their lives.
Looking back over the decades, Michael often reflects with gratitude on the life he and Marian built together.
“There is no doubt in my mind that I have been very lucky in my life.”
His love for Marian has remained constant throughout their long marriage.
However, in recent years, life has brought new challenges.
During the COVID pandemic, Marian was diagnosed with dementia. As her condition progressed, it became increasingly distressing and exhausting for her family to care for her at home. Ultimately, after much heartache, the difficult decision was made for Marian to move into a care home where she could receive the specialist support she needed.
It was not an easy step for the family, but it was made with love and concern for her wellbeing.
Michael visits Marian regularly, holding tightly to the deep and enduring bond they have shared for over sixty years. Each visit is filled with love and memory, even as life brings new challenges.
At the same time, Michael manages multiple sclerosis (MS), which brings its own difficulties.
Yet despite these difficulties, his faith remains steady, providing him with hope and resilience even in moments of doubt and frustration.
Church continues to be a place of strength, comfort and community.
Serving the Church
Michael’s commitment to St Mary’s has been expressed not only through attendance but through service.
In 1981, he was appointed as one of the churchwardens at St Mary’s, serving alongside Blair Green. It was a role he remembers with pride and gratitude.
The church had been such an important part of his life, and serving the congregation felt like a way of giving something back.
Work later took Michael briefly away from Bideford again. In the early 1980s, he moved to Torrington when the Western Counties Building Society opened a new office there. Later, in 1986, he moved to Chippenham in Wiltshire, where he became Branch Manager.
But Bideford had a way of calling him home.
After just two years away, he returned once more in 1988.
Through every stage of life — work, family, hardship and joy — Michael has remained anchored by his faith.
Looking back, he sums up his life simply:
“Yes — I have been a very lucky man.”
“Thank you all. God bless.”
Karen’s Story
Growing Up in the Life of St Mary’s
Karen Johns’ story begins in the very same church that shaped her father’s life.
She was born in November 1965 and christened just six weeks later at St Mary’s Church.
The christening took place on Boxing Day 1965 and was conducted by Reverend Derwent Davis.
At the time, she was simply another baby being welcomed into the church family, though she later discovered an interesting detail about that day — she had been the 999th baby to be christened at St Mary’s.
Her childhood memories are closely connected to the church.
Every Sunday, she attended Sunday school with her parents and sister. The classes were held in the old Wings building and were led by a married couple named Pauline and Ian.
Those early years were filled with learning, laughter and friendship.
One memory in particular stands out clearly — a Sunday school outing to Bideford Zoo, an adventure that delighted the children who attended.
Karen continued attending Sunday school until she was around eleven years old.
Confirmation and Growing Faith
Soon afterwards, she was invited to prepare for confirmation.
At the age of thirteen, she began attending confirmation classes taught by a member of the clergy. These classes helped her understand her faith more deeply and prepared her for the moment when she would publicly affirm it.
On the day of the confirmation service, the candidates gathered together in the Wings building before entering the church.
They were all dressed in white.
During the service, Karen received communion for the first time—a moment she recalls with gratitude and a sense of profound spiritual significance, marking a turning point in her faith journey. Like many young adults, she found that regular church attendance became more difficult. During her twenties and thirties, she attended church only occasionally while balancing work and the responsibilities of raising children.
Even so, faith remained part of her daily life.
She continued to pray every night at home.
By this time, her mother and sister had stopped attending church regularly, leaving Karen and her father to continue going to St Mary’s together.
Her father’s example made a lasting impression. As churchwarden and a member of the Parochial Church Council, he was deeply involved in the life of the church.
Marriage, Family and New Paths
Karen later married her first husband at St Mary’s under Reverend Paul Smith.
One small detail of the wedding still makes her smile today.
The church required the payment to be made entirely in pound coins — something she remembers clearly even now.
Two years later, her children were born, and they too were christened at St Mary’s, continuing a family tradition that had already spanned generations.
Life then took an unexpected turn.
Karen moved to Blackpool with her husband, but the relationship soon ended. Despite the upheaval, she chose to remain there for a time before later moving to Fleetwood.
Even while living far from North Devon, her connection to the church remained strong.
Each week, she travelled to Blackpool St Paul’s Church to attend services.
There she became actively involved in church life again — reading lessons, writing prayers, and helping organise coffee mornings and jumble sales.
Church once again became a place of purpose and belonging.
Coming Home
After ten years in northern England, Karen decided to return home.
Returning to Bideford felt like stepping back into something familiar and deeply comforting.
Soon she began attending St Mary’s again—the very church that had welcomed her at each turning point of her life. Every visit back carried waves of memory, gratitude, and emotional homecoming.
It truly felt like coming full circle.
Karen quickly became involved once more in church life, helping with coffee mornings, rejoining the Mothers’ Union and eventually serving within the church itself.
For her, St Mary’s is far more than a place of worship.
It is a community.
It is a place of friendship.
It is a place of belonging.
Looking back over her journey, she describes the feeling simply:
“I feel like I have come home.”
Faith Across Generations
Michael and Karen’s stories are different, yet deeply connected.
Father and daughter have shared the same church community across generations — worshipping, serving and finding strength in faith together.
St Mary’s has been there through every stage of their lives: christenings, confirmations, weddings, family milestones and moments of challenge.
Through it all, their faith has remained a guiding light.
Today they continue to be part of the living story of St Mary’s Church — a story that grows with each new generation.
If you have your own memories or stories of St Mary’s Church, or if you are new to our community, you are warmly invited to share your journey.
The story of St Mary’s is still being written — and everyone is welcome to be part of it.
