Mavis was born at home on the 8th May 1945 in Balderton Newark. Daughter of the late Henry and Hilda Whittaker; sister to Clifford and the late Derek. She was always proud that she was a V E Day baby and was looking forward to the 75th year celebrations taking part this year - even joking that they’d moved the May Day bank holiday to the Friday for her!
Her dad – Henry— was a dairy farm worker, so they had to move to wherever the work took him. They lived for a while in Balderton, Skillington and Aubourn to name a few, finally settling at Swinderby. She attended the local church and was a Sunday school teacher, took her confirmation, married and had her first child April christened there.
Newly married, Mavis moved to Stapleford Woods with her then husband Trevor and baby daughter April. It is a glorious place to live and she delighted in telling people she lived in a wooden house! She loved the place so much, she was able to buy the property which became her pride and joy. Mavis and Trev had four children together: April, Mark, Chris and Jodie. She was a mother in law to Mark, Loraine and Harinder and Granny Smith to Adam, Tom, Katie, Zak, Daisy and Louis.
During her life, Mavis was a pot washer at the Robinhood Hotel; cleaned for Coxes who also lived in the Woods; was a chambermaid at the Mill Gate House Hotel; a waitress in a little café in Newark and worked the night shifts at Curry’s. All this was to support her growing children. Some of her proudest moments were seeing her eldest daughter get married and giving birth to her first grandchild – Adam. Seeing her eldest son Mark get his black belt in karate, plus attending both Chris’ and Jodie’s graduations to name but a few. One of her greatest achievements was to pass her GCSEs in English Literature and Language, having put herself through college. She adored all of her grandchildren but regretted not being able to see more of Zak, Daisy and Louis as they lived so far away. She made a point of spoiling them when they visited or when we went to see them. Unfortunately, as her illness took hold these visits became less frequent but she loved seeing the pictures and videos Chris and Harinder sent to her.
Her other grandchildren: Adam, Tom and Katie, spent a lot of their childhood at Granny’s house playing in the garden, having big birthday parties and friends round to play. We also enjoyed many picnics at Rufford Park, Wicksteed Park and countless days out at the seaside; Mablethorpe and Sutton on Sea being her favourites. She loved to watch them playing in the school orchestra, singing in the choir and other performances they took part in.
Mavis would look forward to her birthday trips out with her sister-in-law’s Maureen and Thelma, which usually involved a trip to a garden centre and would always come home with an extra plant for the garden. When she was more able, Mavis enjoyed going to the theatre with Jodie. She loved watching Shakespeare and was thrilled to see live performances of the RSC at the Globe Theatre in London, The Courtyard Theatre and The Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, along with other performances in Chichester and Coventry, plus live a performance from The Globe streamed live to the local cinema. Seeing Patrick Stewart, David Tennant and Lenny Henry perform were some of the highlights! Both her daughters loved to take her to the local garden centre or out for the occasional afternoon tea, but her heart lay in the woods where she lived. She loved sitting in her favourite chair watching the birds outside, making sure all the feeders were full of food. This became a regular task for her daughters as she would always point out to them when they needed refilling! A few years ago she was given a bird box that had a camera which could connect to her TV. Last year she was finally able to see a pair of blue tits move in and raise a family of 12 chicks from her armchair! She was really pleased to see them all fledge. She also loved having dogs around the house for company. Over the years there has been: Rusty, Blaze, Bruno, Bonnie, and Amber - they all have been a big part of her family.
Piper is the latest crazy dog in the house. Mavis wasn’t sure it was a good idea to have another dog, but Jodie convinced her. Twelve years later she still loved watching Piper run around the garden and fed her a few too many gravy bones! In addition to dogs, there has been rabbits, cats and chickens. Tilly theA chicken use to come up to the house and perch near the window looking for food. The latest two chickens: Ophelia and Desdemona, have settled in nicely and have found ways to escape the pen to steal the bird food! This would always make Mavis smile.
This last Christmas (2019) she couldn’t leave the house due to her illnesses so she was extremely grateful that Mark arranged for the usual Christmas Lunch to be delivered to the house. To top this off, she was thrilled to bits when Adam, Tom and Katie came to visit which was rare in recent years due to their work and Uni commitments. She did not stop smiling all the time they were there.
Mavis was a strong and good natured lady; everyone who met her said she was lovely, always being kind and considerate to others. She lived for her children and grandchildren and was extremely proud of everything they have achieved.
The last week at home was tough on her, she was struggling even more than usual to move around the house and had a couple of tumbles. She decided to take up an offer of a week’s rest in Beaumond House Hospice, Newark: ‘it’s just for a little rest’ she said. And rest she did. She looked so happy and relaxed in the massive recliner chair in her room and kept telling everyone she needed to sleep as she was very tired. On the night of Mothering Sunday, she took her last breath. With no pain, she drifted off into her final sleep; she looked so content and at peace.A