Friday 10th February 2023

This morning Jenny’s very close family met at Rainsbrook crematorium for her committal, and to say good bye to her. They listened together to Vivaldi’s Spring – a piece Jenny had heard hundreds of times when  Freddie George and Lydia went busking in Bruges and Venice with the Rugby Sinfonia. They would like this afternoon’s memorial service to be a celebration of the joy and love that she gave to us all.
Sadly, Jenny’s parents who are grieving in Pateley Bridge are unable to be here and are in our thoughts.


Jenny was born in Middlesborough and always considered herself a Yorkshire girl. She moved around in her early years, starting school in Aden before returning to the UK to Southwell and then on to Otley where she finished her schooling in Otley at Prince Henry’s Grammar School where she was not allowed to do Technical Drawing, which she loved, because she was a girl. She was still grumbling about that only last month. So she chose French English and Art instead at which she excelled. She then spent a year in Montpellier, France from where she emerged speaking perfect colloquial French, before going to University College London to begin her degree in Norwegian and Icelandic. After three weeks of beginning to learn not just Norwegian and Icelandic, but Old Norse as well, she wisely decided to change to French which involved another year in France at St Lo. She still has many friends in France and Senegal who are with us today on the livestream. ‘Nous souhaitons la bienvenue aux amis de Jenny en France, au Senegal et aux Etats Unis qui nous rejoignent en livestream’.
On graduating she decided to go to Manchester to train as a specialist Teacher of the Deaf. She never knew why she made that decision but it was one she would never regret. She worked in London, Hull, and Northumberland before her move to Yelvertoft when she spent more than 20 years with Leicestershire. She still has friends from each of those places and was recently in contact with some of her former pupils in Hull now well into their middle age. During her 45 years as a Teacher of the Deaf she saw many changes in her job as technology continuously improved over the years giving hearing impaired children far more opportunities to use the hearing they have. This changed what her job was about but she was always eager to keep up to speed with these changes as she could see the benefits they brought.
She moved to Hull in 1980 to be with David, and to be back in Yorkshire. She loved Hull, the unique people and their language; and the flatness and openness of the landscape. She then moved on to Northumberland where Freddie and George were born and life took on a new dimension. A further move saw Jenny arriving in Yelvertoft, Freddie and George losing their Geordie accents and the arrival of Lydia.
In 2002 David got a job in Bristol and Jenny put her foot down –‘ no more moves – we’re staying in Yelvertoft’. So for 10 years David was a weekly commuter and during the week Jenny was a single working Mum looking after the demands of three beautiful children, each with their own demands, and then at the weekend managing also a very stressed husband. She made her mark in Bristol when she came down for social events. She was not intimidated by Generals, Admirals and Air Marshalls. At one black tie leaving do she engaged in a lively debate with the Admiral responsible for the nuclear programme on the wisdom of the UKs nuclear deterrent.  History doesn’t record who got the better of the argument, but Jenny was invited back many times and the event was recalled with fondness for years to come, particularly by the agents provocateurs who had been plying both the participants with red wine without either of them seemingly noticing.
In 2012 David retired. It could be said he played a blinder in waiting until the children were more independent and fleeing the nest before stopping his weekly escape.  Jenny kept working, as she loved her job, the people she worked with, the parents and most of all the children. Liz and Joe joined her family which gave Jenny great joy.  But with roles reversed Jenny and David could spend more time together and their love grew stronger. Jenny finally retired just a year ago at the end of 2021. She packed in so much in 2022. She was one of the first tourists after COVID to visit Bermuda in January, she cruised the Rhine with friends in May, she visited the Victoria Falls and safaried in Botswana in July and then was an eager supporter at the Commonwealth Games in August, cheering on gymnasts from the Cayman Islands, badminton players from Canada, athletes from all over the place, and seeing for the first time 3x3 basketball in both able bodied and wheelchair versions.
At Christmas she saw all the family and at New Year she was partying at friends until 2 o’clock in the morning when David insisted on being taken home. She only realised that she was seriously ill less than two weeks before she died at home with David. 
She was looking forward to becoming a grandmother as Freddie and Liz were going through a lengthy adoption process. Early in January the adoption was finally approved and 9 days ago James became her first grandchild.