ForeverMissed
Large image
Her Life
July 7, 2021
Born in Southport, she was christened Jean Rosaline Nye but had, since early childhood, been known as ‘Rosalie’ so as to save confusion with her Mother, also Jean.

Her teenage years were greatly affected by the early death of her father, who spent many years in and out of sanatoriums after suffering gas inhalation during the first world war   Up until then her parents had run a sweet shop but faced with having to provide for her children alone, her Mother opened a Bed and Breakfast , which together with her sister, Violet, meant having to help their Mother run the business after returning home after school.

It was during this time that she developed a love of dancing which culminated in her performing with the Billy Cotton Band Show in Southport., which would best be described today as a Tiller Girl!!  

When the second world war broke out, she signed up to the WRAF, where she was trained in Radar. She was always very proud of the fact that she was heavily involved in the plotting of D Day whilst stationed in the Isle of Wight. She made many friends during this time, which continued throughout her life.

At one of the last stations she was posted to, a rather handsome young man caught her eye, probably due to the fact that he had fallen over with his violin in front of her, and after helping him to his feet, decided he was the man for her.

Ken was his name and they enjoyed a very happy marriage of 44 years, which was sadly cut short in l989 by his early death following a short illness. Ken had been in Shipping and Freight Forwarding and the business required them to travel extensively around the world, visiting the most exotic locations for various conventions. They made many life long friends from all over the world because of these trips. One favourite dinner party story involved surviving a coup in Santo Domingo, which by all accounts was quite a frightening experience. That aside she was in her element at these functions, being able to recall at an instant some ones’ name, who they worked for, the names and ages of their children, and what education or job they had the last time they had met. Sadly this fantastic memory was the very thing she lost in later life.

Another of her skills was tailoring. She was an incredible seamstress, not only did she make all of the clothes for her children, Susan and myself, but also many wonderful outfits including jackets and coats for herself. At my wedding, she even made the wedding dress for Nicky, in addition to the two bridesmaids dresses. Actually I remember when I was very young, push chair age I’m talking, frequently being wheeled to the local big store where they had this long counter with dozens of pattern books that my Mother would page through looking for a suitable pattern for her next project. She would always look down at me and say ‘I won’t be long I just want to have a quick look for a pattern, I would watch the pages turning slowly thinking surely she must be near the end of the book soon. And then with a sideways step would abandon that book and start another. As a dutiful son I would let out a loud sigh, ‘nearly done dear, just got to check out one in here’ However to me it seemed like being strapped to my pushchair for hours and hours.

She still found time to do her dancing, both tap and modern and having passed this passion onto her daughter, Susan, meant that they both appeared in local dancing shows together.  Again her expertise in dressmaking and tailoring came to the fore in that she often made many of the costumes that they wore.

After our father died she joined the Victory Services Club which enabled her to attend yearly reunions for those who served in Radar making contact again with some of the people she had been stationed with during the war and had lost touch with. For many years she marched at the Cenotaph proudly wearing her medals in the process.

Also in later life, she took up yoga which she enjoyed until her early eighties, and in terms of keeping fit was in better shape than the rest of us!!

I think it is fair to say that she really did ‘Always look on the bright side of life’ and whenever she recalled a distant memory it was always a happy one with a little laugh or chuckle as she recounted the story. Even in the final few years of her life she was in a happy place and said how well she was looked after at the Care Home.

She said many times that she had had a wonderful life, full of fun with good friends and that is how we intend to remember her.