Margaret Edwards (27 Dec 1923 - 4 Nov 2015)

MARGARET EDWARDS, MUM
Margaret was born in Bootle, Liverpool, on 27th December 1923. She was the youngest of 4 children: George, Honora, and Alice (she also had a twin brother, who died in infancy). Her father was a docker, who had been disabled by an accident while working on the docks. To survive, her mother took in washing and cleaned in local pubs. Like many working class people of her generation, mum left school at the age of 14, without formal qualifications. During the war she joined the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service) with Alice. After the war she was employed on ocean-going cruise ships, with the Cunard Line, as a children's nanny. It was while she was on the ships that she met her future husband, George Edwards. They married in 1954, and had two sons: Michael, who now lives in Florida, USA, and John, who lives in Nottingham. George left his young wife, with two young children, in 1960, and later divorced her. Margaret considered herself married for the rest of her life, and never showed any sign of bitterness towards her former husband. As a single mum, she had to work hard to support her family. But she did this, with determination, faith, and humour, and a good measure of success.

She had many varied jobs: Littlewoods Pools, the Metal Box, Hannan's greengrocer's, Jacobs biscuits, to name a few. When an opportunity came up to train as a school cook, she took it and was soon in charge of the kitchen at the Holy Rosary primary school in Aintree. After a few years she was asked if she would like to work for a community of priests, who were about to set up a secondary school in Bootle, near her home. This was the start of the most fruitful and enjoyable phase of her working life. She worked as the chief cook/housekeeper for the Salesian community in Bootle until she retired. It was a role which brought together her skills as a cook and organiser, with her strong Catholic faith. She saw herself as serving and supporting a group of priests (over 20 in number) who were doing great things for the people of Bootle. Both Michael and John attended the Salesian College, and they both benefited hugely from the experience. The priests were good employers. They were kind to Margaret, and she loved working for them. Many of them became lifelong friends.

Apart from brief periods during the war years, Margaret lived her whole life in Liverpool. It was a city which had been economically and culturally important in the life of the country (and will be again); but in the 70s and 80s it went through hard times. Nevertheless, mum remained fiercely proud and partisan about the city of her birth. She had many kind friends in her close knit community in Maritime Court, Netherton, and her routines were centred on daily mass. During these years she became closer to her sister Nora, who also lived in Maritime Court. Because of Nora's disabilities, she relied on Margaret for support as a primary carer. She also travelled to wherever her sons were: either Florida (where Michael and Colette had gone with their family for work) or one of the many places that John and Sally lived in.

Given her strong identification with Liverpool, it was a surprise when she told the family, in 2009, that she wanted to move to Nottingham, to be closer to her grandchildren. Later that year, both she and Nora moved into Epperstone Court, West Bridgford. Margaret missed Nora after her death in 2011, but she developed new routines, around the local shops, and her new parish of the Holy Spirit. She also made many new friends, particularly through the wonderful women of the Union of Catholic Mothers in Holy Spirit parish, who were welcoming and kind. And the move to Nottingham meant that, as she foresaw, she would be able to see her (Nottingham) grandchildren more frequently. A few years after moving to Nottingham she had the joy of being reunited with her great friend Joan Kupiec, when Joan also moved from Liverpool to West Bridgford so that they could be closer.

Thus the final phase of Margaret's long life was rich and fruitful, as the rest of her life had been. She was an intelligent woman, a superb manager of resources, a fine cook, a great friend, a doting mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Above all else she was a devout Catholic, who tried to live out the message of the gospels in her daily life. This meant for her an unwavering commitment to her family, to practising her faith, to serving others, to charitable giving, and to gratitude as a frame of mind: she was grateful for whatever she had.

How do you summarise such a life in a few words? How do you define the person who lived it? How will we describe Margaret, our mother, to our children’s children, who didn’t know her personally?

We will tell them that she was above all else a good person. She would have liked that. Then, we will explain to them how she passed down a simple set of values that will, we hope, endure through them, to their own children. Basic value structures built around family, friends and faith: simple, without any frills.

We will tell them about her ‘uncommon’ common sense; how someone with barely a rudimentary education was able to organize and manage the life of her family through the complications that overwhelm many others. And we will tell them, proudly, how she lived the life she had been given with stoic acceptance. ‘God is good’ was her oft repeated comment.

As a result of this, she never complained about her life. Yes, we all heard her grumble about her legs, and more recently, about her loss of eyesight. But she never grumbled about her family, her friends, or her faith.
Margaret's life was not an easy one. But it was a GOOD life: rich, fruitful and meaningful. She had a hugely positive impact upon those around her, even those who met her only briefly. She had an astonishing gift for friendship, and lived her life with bags of self respect.

Mum, you can put your weary legs up now, and have a good rest. You have done your bit for your family, and it was good. There’s no more washing to be done, or babies to be bathed. Rest in peace.