Mary Kennedy

Mary Kennedy.

The passing of Mary Kennedy, although having survived to such a great age, was a shock. She was my Mother in law for nearly fifty years and like my own late mother, was a survivor from the World War Two years; a situation, becoming unknown today, that endowed people of her generation with very special qualities of survival and endurance.

One of her favourite stories was how she returned from night nursing duty at the Coventry hospital to find her apartment had received a direct hit. She climbed the stairs and opened her door to find there was no roof, no ceiling, no floor; just three stories of exposed fireplaces, one above the other. There was nothing left of her room, everything having tumbled into the basement. Then she remembered her fur coat; she had left it on the back of her door; and there it was! Smothered in plaster, it needed a lot of work, but she was so pleased.…

She was a lovely person and so supportive, particularly when her daughter and I were a young married couple during our first year or two. ‘Mum’ as she was always known, would drive over to visit and she never arrived empty handed – usually a handy box of groceries and goodies that our limited budget did not always run to in those days…. Her treats were always appreciated; home-made rock cakes and sherry trifle spring to mind!

She was a good sport too; many, many years ago, accidentally we had bashed husband George’s new wooden garden seat with our car. We had botched the splits back together with some screws and Mary kept ‘mum’ when George got home, spotted it and began asking questions….

There will always be a special place in our hearts for Mary - and George too; they liked nothing better than when the family came together….

She will be missed by many. Nicholas Simpson, Roussillon, FRANCE Monday 09 April 2018