Anne Cohn (10 Apr 1938 - 26 Nov 2022)

In loving memory of Anne Cohn who sadly passed away on 26th November 2022

From being a leading light in the church youth club as a teenager in Sidlow, following skiffle groups and her beloved Chris Barber band, she became a working girl in the City where rents were so high that she took a second job as an usherette in a news theatre. She was never allowed to carry the ice cream tray - much to her regret. Anne went on to become a wife and mother. Four years after losing her first husband, she met and married Gerry, acquiring three new daughters and a mother-in-law to look after as well as helping her own Mother to care for her Father with failing health.

Although working full time, she embraced the Woodmansterne village life and when money was needed to build a new village hall, introduced Sandra Taylor, the wife of a work colleague, as a prospective fund raiser. An Old Time Music Hall was produced by Sandra. It brought in a lot of cash and the rest as they say, is history. The Woodmansterne Operatic and Dramatic society have given much pleasure as well as supporting charitable work.

Following the death of her Father and then Mother just over a year later, Anne nursed her Mother-In-Law, helped Gerry with his delightful Aunt Kitty who had been a dancer on the London stage as well as being the sole support for her maiden Aunt. Auntie Maimie was an ex-headmistress who corrected Anne's diction and grammer until the day she died aged 96.

Gerry and Anne had 20 good years together even though the last 5 years were spent nursing Gerry through cancer. In those five years, they had the joy of seeing 6 grandchildren being born. After Gerry's death, Anne became involved with the Samaritans as a volunteer listener, leader and deputy director. With Gordon Brown tinkering with financial laws and the Charity Commissioner demanding new accounting standards, Anne also took on being the Treasurer of the local Leatherhead branch which kept her busy.

Anne embarked on a series of overseas holidays with a group of friends who became known as "The Merry Widows". The trip right across Canada became a highlight in Anne's life. A work highlight was when Anne was chosen as the token female in an engineering company to receive The Queen's award for Industry.

Following retirement and her son's road accident, life again became a long round of caring and hospital appointments. Needing more space, Anne moved to Wokingham where many happy hours were spent in her large south facing garden. Any spare time was spent in researching her family history. On her Mother's side, this culminated in Anne organising and hosting a gathering in Cumbria including Canadian and UK family members. On her Father's side she was able to add much to the considerable research undertaken by an Australian cousin, discovering that if she had been male, she would have been entitled to use the family coat of arms.

After a stroke in 2011, Anne purchased a bungalow in a sheltered housing complex and very soon afterwards was elected as a director of the management company, responsible for the daily running of the complex and the finances. Anne always enjoyed being able to utilise her considerable planning and organisational skills and these tasks kept her out of mischief.

Anne had a number of health issues in her latter years which meant that her daughter Elizabeth became the main support for her numerous trips to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. The NHS had done their very best to enable Anne to manage her various ailments and to live out her remaining days with dignity. Mum passed away very peacefully with her daughter at her side from "one infection too many that could not be fixed".

Mum's final comment to Elizabeth just before she passed was "I tried my best". This is the best lesson that any of us can take forward.