Ita Isabel Young (26 Jan 1948 - 4 Sep 2023)

In loving memory of Ita Isabel Young who sadly passed away on 4th September 2023.

Ita was born on 26 January 1948 in Derby, the fourth of five children of Denis and Sarah McCarthy. She recalled having little stimulation or encouragement as a child, and when she later discovered that her arrival was unexpected, this then led her to believe this was the reason she was treated as she was.

After finishing school, Ita moved to Cambridge to do her Nursing training at Addenbrookes Hospital and after qualifying remained working there. She and a friend from the hospital came to my brother’s 21st birthday party, which was being held at our house, in September 1967 and that is where we met.

We married in July 1970 and moved to Nottingham, where Ita continued Nursing at the children’s hospital. We bought our first, and only, house and moved in May 1971, closely followed by Andrew’s arrival in June 1971.

Ita then gave up work and stayed at home to look after Andrew and Catherine who was born in May 1973. Money was quite tight at this time but she managed to provide good wholesome meals. I can remember her going to the village shop to buy one egg to make a Yorkshire pudding, much to her embarrassment. .

When the children started school Ita returned to nursing, working nights at a cottage hospital in Ripley. She took them to and from school and slept during the day.. I looked after them at night and weekends, trying to keep them quiet (which could be a challenge!), so Ita could catch up on her sleep.

When the children started secondary school and were more able to look after themselves Ita was able to work more hours and went to work in the recovery unit in the operating theatres at Nottingham City Hospital. Here she treated patients as they came round from anaesthesia and cared for them until they were well enough to return to the wards. This was a high skilled and sometime stressful environment in which she thrived. There was also humour in people’s reactions when coming round and Ita had many funny stories about this. Ita also acted as teacher and mentor to student doctors, nurses and paramedics on recovery skills, and really enjoys this aspect of the job.

In 1998 she had to give up nursing due to severe back problems. This was at a time when computers were becoming a major factor in the workplace and having hated using them and trying to avoid them at all costs, Ita realised that it would be necessary to use them in any future job. So she enrolled at a local college to learn computer skills. Not only did she overcome her fears and successfully qualifiy but helped her fellow students, becoming a mentor to several of them. Having got her qualifications Ita was keen to put them to good use.

I’d had to leave my job for health reasons and because we had both been out of the workplace for several years,), we enrolled on a course designed to help the over 50's back into work. This was a series of workshops covering CV preparation, application letters and forms, interview techniques etc. Not only did Ita throw herself into this wholeheartedly, she was awarded Student of the Year in a ceremony at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham. She was also interviewed by Radio Nottingham about her experience changing careers.

After completing the course Ita soon obtained work with Nottingham City Libraries in 2003 teaching basic computer skills to customers on a one to one basis at their local libraries. Although this was hard work, she loved being able to pass on her knowledge to others and see them progress. When this job finished she transferred to become a casual library assistant working in many libraries as required, still enjoying helping people with their computer problems. She really loved her work and was keen to continue, although well over retiring age. Ita worked her last shift on Saturday before she died and had several bookings for the rest of the month.

Outside of work Ita had many interests over the years including tap dancing, line dancing, swimming, fitness and yoga classes and she really enjoyed walking. As Andrew and Catherine were growing up we went to the seaside every year, mainly to Great Yarmouth, first in a B & B run by one of my aunts and uncle, then in a touring caravan. We had some really great times on the beach and in the attractions. As the children grew up and went their ways, although still coming back too often, we started going into the mountains, lakes and forests. though she still loved being by the sea. In our touring caravan we visited many parts of Wales, the Lake District, Scotland and North and East Yorkshire enjoying spectacular scenery. Latterly we took it a bit easier staying in static caravans on Holiday Parks, mainly on the Yorkshire coast

In 2016, after I recovered from breaking my anklewe had our holiday of a lifetime visiting theme parks in Orlando, Niagra Falls and Las Vegas, places, which for many years, Ita had longed to see. In Niagra we stayed in an hotel with spectacular views of the Falls. We also had a helicopter flight over the Falls and a couple of guided tours round the area. In Las Vegas we had a helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon which included a champagne lunch, which sounds fancy but consisted of a plastic wrapped cob with a plastic cup of semi-warm champagne!

When our grandchildren Freya and Zack were born Ita loved being involved in their care, babysitting and taking them out on visits in the school holidays. The last trip was to a dinosaur adventure golf where Ita was delighted not to have come last! She loved watching them grow and develop into the people they are today. Since they have become more self-reliant we graduated from looking after children to looking after animals.

Ita loved a good party: she was up for dancing, eating, drinking and playing games (the sillier the better) . She really liked being with people and enjoying their company. She was happy to be able to pass on her knowledge to others to improve their skills. During all the different stages of her life, both inside and outside work, Ita made many enduring friendships. Many of these friends are here today

In spite of her many achievements and successful changes of careers, Ita suffered low esteem and self worth, never believing that she was as good as she was. This stemmed from her difficult childhood, but we did our best throughout her adult life to support her and convince her how special and loved she was.

In the last couple of years, particularly during the covid restrictions, her back and hip problems affected her mobility and Ita became frustrated that she was not as mobile as she had been. She was scared of losing her sight, or getting diabetes and needing amputations. She was also scared of getting cancer having seen both her parents, brother and younger sister die from it. She no longer has these worries. Fortunately she did not suffer any medical conditions and was not on any medication, and was working and socialising up until the day she died.

We celebrate Ita’s long and varied life. She was a loving and much loved Wife, Mum and Nana and she will be greatly missed. She has a special place in our hearts.