Pauline Whittaker (11 May 1942 - 30 Sep 2024)

In loving memory of Jane Whittaker who sadly passed away on 30th September 2024
Pauline was born in Lancashire in 1942 into the Rogerson family and lived her early life in Great Harewood with her mother, father and brother, Michael. She when to school at the local convent but found the nuns to be rather strict and so left school at the earliest opportunity. She went to work in Barclays Bank and progressed to be a key holder for the bank with access to the safe etc from quite a young age.
She met her husband Arthur Whittaker at a dance in Accrington Mecca. They were married in November 1966 and moved to a bungalow in Wheatly Lane near Burnley. Where they had three children, Andrew, Simon and Annette.
Later on, the family moved to Uplands Drive in Fence. At the time Pauline help run the local play school with her good friend Christine Bankcroft.
Later, Arthur purchased Slack Farm outside Colne, near the village of Wycoller, which was rather remote, and the family moved up there. Pauline helped out on the farm, especially during lambing and calving because of her small hands. She liked animals and the family had numerous cats and dogs. She had two donkeys called George and Henry, that she rescued from Ireland, that she doted on and spoiled rotten. She wanted Arthur to create a window from the Donkey shed into the kitchen so she could talk to them whilst she was cooking but Arthur never got round to it. The Donkeys also had a horse friend called Bronze, which her son Simon rescued.
Times at the farm could be difficult and during winter the family often went without running water as the pipe from the spring would freeze up. Pauline always kept a well stoked pantry just in case the family was snowed in. During hay time she would often provide loads of sandwiches and drinks for the men working on the farm and her kitchen was always busy during these times.
She refused to ever drive the tractor in case she got landed with doing it regularly.
When living at Slack Farm, she enjoyed going out and socialising with her sisters in law, Maud, Joan, Margaret and Anne and attended various women’s social groups and was a regular church goer. She went shopping most Saturdays with her daughter, Annette, and very much enjoyed her trips out.
Whilst living at Slack Farm, Pauline started working at Barrowford Primary school as a school secretary, which she enjoyed, and then retired in 1993. She ran a very organised and efficient office using a computer however, her use of modern technology was very limited as in her mobile phone was switched off more than it was switched on and she often rang the wrong person.
Pauline loved dogs, especially Yorkshire Terriers and she had three Yorkies in her life. The first was Candy, who she rescued via an animal charity, when she heard on the radio about over 20 dogs being kept in a two up two down terraced house that needed rehoming. Candy was a lovely dog but did have the strange habit of trying to attack visitors when they tried to leave the house. The second Yorkie she had was called Rosie and the third was Timmy.
At Christmas, Pauline would always send presents from the animals in her life to her family and her son-in-law, Owen, was rather taken aback to receive some chocolates from Maurice the cat the first Christmas he was with Annette.

In 1998 Annette moved in with her boyfriend Owen which Pauline was concerned about. She was an unassuming lady, however when she wanted something she knew how to get her way. She obviously decided that Owen was a good match for Annette as she began to leave engagement ring catalogues on the coffee table at their house until Owen got the hint and popped the question.
In 2000 Pauline’s daughter married Owen and in 2003 her first grandchild, Edward, was born. Her second grandchild, George, was born in 2008. Pauline doted on her Grandchildren and referred to them as her boys. She would baby sit but resisted becoming a regular carer for them because she did not want to have to discipline them as she wanted to be a grandma that spoils her grandchildren. And she continued to spoil them right up to the end. After Edward started driving, she would always give Edward petrol money when he visited but she would also give George “petrol money” too even though he was too young to drive! She always kept a special box filled with their favourite treats which they would help themselves to whenever they visited her. She used to buy them big boxes of crunchy nut cornflakes because Annette wouldn’t.
Around 2006 Pauline, Arthur and Simon moved to a new farm in Devon for the better weather. There she had a bigger garden and really got into gardening and looking after wildlife, such as hedgehogs, newts and wild birds. Passions which stayed with her the rest of her life.
Whilst living in Devon Pauline and Arthur did a fair bit of travelling and liked going on coach tours around the UK and abroad. They very much enjoyed meeting the local people and seeing the sights.
Pauline joined the local C of E church in Pyworthy and was a regular helper at fund raisers.
Unfortunately Pauline’s son, Simon, died in a tragic farming accident in 2010 and in 2015 her husband Arthur died. As such she was then left on the farm on her own, so moved in with her daughter and family in Somerset, where she lived for around a year. However, she liked being independent and liked her own space, so she was keen to buy her own house. She found her perfect “little house” in Langport in 2018, which she loved and shared with her Yorkie Timmy.
She enjoyed walking Timmy every day and meeting lots of other dogs and their owners. She loved living at Station Court and having her neighbours round for coffee regularly. She always had her hair done on a Thursday in Langport and planned her week around the hairdresser appointments. She managed to fill her little house and garden with boxes of coffee, clocks, vacuum cleaners, leaf blowers, bananas, ice cream and sheds. She loved her garden and spent many hours in it tending her plants.