Saying goodbye to Mum today is one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do. We’d first like to share with you all a small insight into our mum’s life;

We never had the privilege to meet mum’s parents, our grandparents, Thomas & Noel Donovan, but we have no doubt that on the 4th March 1937, they were beaming with pride, as Patricia Gwendoline Donovan was born into their lives.

Sadly, they both passed whilst mum was still a young child, leaving Patricia to be cared for by her Aunties Betty and Annie. It was during this time that mum built a special bond with Annie’s daughter  who came to be known by us as Auntie Mary. Mum’s two elder sisters Catherine & Eileen had flown the nest but she remained very close to them throughout their lives.

It’s fitting that we are gathered here today in St Mary’s Church, a special place in mum’s heart where she received all her holy sacraments from Baptism through to Matrimony and continued to worship every Sunday at the 08.30 mass along with many cherished friends she had made over her years of life in the parish.

 
Mum passed her 11+ and attended Coloma Convent school for girls. One of her first Saturday jobs was working in Woolworths, where she made a lifelong friend in Auntie Joan. It took us many years to understand that “Auntie” was also a term of endearment that was used to describe many of mum’s close friends.

She went on to work with Joan at The Croydon Advertiser where we understand they spent much of their early wage packets on their love of shoes & trips to the Cinema together.

Another one of mum’s early jobs was at The Payne’s Poppets factory in Beddington, ironically the famous Poppets chocolate boxes were first introduced in 1937, so it must have been fate that mum would end up working there some years later. Whilst this helps to explain mum’s sweet tooth, it’s evident her love of sweet treats dates back much earlier, so much so, that when she couldn’t buy sweets during the war, she would instead scoff Fishermen’s Friends cough sweets as these were considered medicinal and thus not rationed.

Mum met her husband to be, Derek, in a jazz club and they were married here on the 15th February 1958. She remained true to her vows and they clocked up over 60 years of marriage together, during which time they had three children, myself and my two elder sisters.
Mum’s association with St Mary’s continued with later roles at St Mary’s Play Group and as a Dinner Lady at St Mary’s Primary School, where she could keep a beady eye on our behaviour and ensure we ate the packed lunches she had prepared for us! 

Mum loved babies and children, so her last job as an auxiliary nurse in the maternity ward at Mayday Hospital, was simply perfect for her and she remained in contact with many colleagues throughout her retirement.

Mum’s voluntary work included her role as Brown Owl of the local Brownies, and helping out for many years at the South Norwood Pop-in with her sister-in-law Maureen.

Neither of our parents learned to drive, but this never deterred travel and despite many miles of separation between mum and her sisters, we remember fondly our regular trips to Egham by train and long coach journeys up to Seaham Harbour in the Northeast. All our early family holidays were spent in the UK, quite often in Butlins, but in later life they spread their wings to explore many far off destinations, often aboard a cruise ship.

No car in the household, also meant that mum would regularly trudge off to Safeway’s in George Street, accompanied by her trusted shopping trolley, to do the weekly food shop. We regularly considered reporting her as a missing person as she did have a tendency to stop and have a chat on the way down, then with the ladies on the tills, and then again with someone on the way home. In fact, we often wondered if there was anyone in Croydon that mum didn’t know?!

That sweet tooth of mum’s, meant that every dinner, 7 days a week, was followed by a pudding; mid-week was typically tinned fruit, angel delight or arctic roll but mum went into overdrive on Sundays when the Roast would be followed by a homemade pie, crumble or trifle.
Mum also loved her days out shopping with Maureen and Susan and there probably isn’t a market inside of the M25 that these three didn’t visit over the years. 

Staying on the shopping theme brings us to one of mum’s many selfless deeds, we regularly accompanied her on trips to visit Mrs Clarke, an elderly former neighbour, for whom she continued to shop on a weekly basis, despite her moving to Woodside.

 
In recent years the tables turned, and it was us who regularly drove mum to Tesco’s to assist her with her weekly shop, though she never ceased to amaze us by insisting that she should carry the heavy bags, so neither myself or my wife, would put our backs out.

Mum would always make time for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, whether it was treating them to exciting days out, or simply always being on hand for baby-sitting duties to allow us parents a much-needed break.

Mum’s last 18 months were tough, first she lost her husband and then shortly after her Stroke robbed her of her much-treasured independence, but she didn’t once moan or feel sorry for herself and when asked of her well-being her stock answer became “mustn’t grumble”. She came to rely on the help of others, none more-so than the two live-in carers, both called Magda, who lovingly cared for mum and quickly gained her trust and affection. This enabled her to remain in her own home in Brickwood Road, where she’ll be sorely missed by many neighbours – she was after all a part of the furniture.

RIP MUM

I’d now like to hand-over to my sister Helen……