Margaret Winney (14 Mar 1923 - 17 Jan 2025)

In memory of Margaret, I am glad I got to know her and her indomitable spirit.

In memory of a lovely lady.

When I first visited Margaret in the Grange she said she was worried that she might die without a Christian being with her. I said then " Don't worry. If you ring me I will come to you quickly." How wonderful it was that Akos was to look after her so well. For a long time I visited Margaret every 2 weeks with Communion which happily was shared with AKOS, too. It was wonderful when Akos arranged visits with Margaret to St Marks Church on a Sunday morning, sometimes in the church and sometimes in the hall. Margaret was in a wheelchair at the front and so many of the congregation knelt to talk with her remembering the times she had worshipped there in the past. This was until a few weeks before her death.
I will miss Margaret and Akos so much as we had become such good friends.

My family has been connected with Margaret's family for over 100 years. My great aunt Blanche was married to Margaret's father Billy. Blanche died when she was relatively young and Uncle Billy, as my family knew him, later married Ivy. Their daughter Margaret was 2 years older than my mother Heather. The two families used to meet up at the seaside on the coast of Essex where my family had a beach hut at St Osyth. We have photos of my mother and her two brothers, playing on the beach with Margaret in the 1930's. Margaret was particularly fond of Lawrence who was great fun, organised games and made her laugh.

Later, when Margaret settled in Reigate, my mother and grandmother were living in nearby Dorking. Margaret and my mother continued to meet up with each other. After my mother died in 2008 and my husband Colin had retired, we saw more of Margaret. I remember inviting her to join me for a meal with friends in Covent Garden. Margaret was completely at ease with everyone and afterwards we all went on to see a ballet at the opera house.

Margaret played a historic organ at Hatchlands Park for our wedding reception in 1987. Special permission had to be obtained from the National Trust and Margaret made several visits to practice and fully acquaint herself with this instrument. When the guests arrived, they were very lucky to be treated to an informal recital by Margaret. Colin and I were felt very privileged that Margaret was happy to take this on.

When our two sons were young I remember Margaret suggesting an outing to the Wildlife and Wetland Trust reserve . She collected our two boys and myself and drove us to Arundel. Afterwards Margaret took us to the shop and said to the boys "now you can both choose whatever you like to take home"! That idea went down very well and they were both thrilled with their purchases.

It was only 8 years ago that Margaret, then in her 90's, came to my 60th birthday tea in Brockham. It was a very enjoyable occasion and Margaret was particularly good at keeping a 4 year old girl guest happy.

In the last few years Margaret showed great strength of character, fortitude and dignity. I will remember her as a very generous-hearted, sociable and talented lady with a great interest in people. She made many friends over the course of her long life. We will greatly miss her presence in our lives.

Rest in Peace Margaret. Love Jennie, Phil, Michael, James, Jilly (and Maisie)

On behalf of all the carers from Required.co.uk who lovingly looked after Margaret

I was privileged to be part of the small team of carers providing ‘one to one’ 24/7 care for Margaret during the final two years of her long life. She had been living at Reigate Grange Retirement Home since 2020 and in late 2022 had decided that, ongoing, she wanted full time care and companionship. On New Year’s Eve it fell to me to become Margaret’s first ‘one to one’ carer and by the end of the first day there was a glimmer of hope that she might be able to at least tolerate my company!

Happily, over the next few months, toleration blossomed into friendship. By this time I was spending four or five days a week in her company and we were becoming close friends. She told me all about her family and friends, who lovingly and faithfully looked after her wellbeing and visited her regularly at the Grange.

She eagerly looked forward to the many phone calls from family and friends near and far, including regular calls from her stepdaughter in Australia and from her nephew in Scotland.

She also very much appreciated the love, kindness and generosity shown to her by so many people, including Jacob whose care agency, Required Limited, supplied the carers who looked after Margaret. She was overwhelmed by the weekly deliveries of beautiful flowers, chocolates and other gifts that Jacob showered on her, especially at Christmas and on her 100th and 101st birthdays. On these occasions her apartment was like a florist’s shop because of the flowers, not just from Jacob but from so many of her family, friends and organisations which she supported.

Margaret’s deep faith in the Lord Jesus was something we both shared and we often studied the Bible and prayed together. Having been a church organist for many years she had a great love and knowledge of Christian music and we would often listen to broadcast services and hymn recitals. She also loved classical music and we regularly listened to Radio 3 and Classic FM together.

Our shared faith was, in fact, the major factor in developing our friendship. Shortly after we first met, Margaret told me that she had not attended church since she moved to the Grange and especially missed Holy Communion. I knew of a Christian lady called Janet who was on a short term respite at the Grange and invited her to call on Margaret. By God’s grace, it turned out that Janet was a member of the same church, St Mark’s, that Margaret used to attend. Janet arranged for Ian Archer to visit Margaret fortnightly to share Holy Communion with us and we both really appreciated his visits, especially given that Ian is in his 90s and travelled to the Grange on a mobility scooter!

Although Ian’s visits were greatly valued it became clear that Margaret really missed physically attending church and at the beginning of last year I began to consider how this might be achieved; her mobility and eyesight were somewhat impaired but there was nothing else that should prevent her leaving the Grange for an hour or two. I contacted her friend Jackie who offered to drive Margaret and I to St Mark’s. It was the first time Margaret had attended church in four years and she was applauded by the congregation and treated like royalty! After a couple of successful trial visits, I contacted Jacob who arranged specialist wheelchair enabled taxis to take us to church on Sundays, which became the highlight of her week.

Margaret was assured of Jesus’ love for her and was confident that she would be going back to her maker when her time came. She often told me about her ‘beautiful chalet’ that was being prepared for her. In John 14 v. 2 Jesus said “In my father’s house there are many mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for each of you”. Margaret knew that the Lord Jesus had prepared a place for her; her ‘heavenly chalet’ was, so to speak, ready for her arrival after her departure from this life. A month before she passed away she told me that her ‘travelling papers’ had been delivered to her that morning. Her faith assured her that she was going back to her Maker who loved her and died on the Cross for her.

For me, going to Reigate Grange five days a week for two years was so much more than just a job; it meant spending precious time with my dear friend Margaret, whom I loved and cherished. Thank you Margaret, for being my friend in Christ Jesus.

Margaret, may you rest in the peace and love of Christ Jesus. Amen