Lucyna Miroslawa Taylor (18 Nov 1951 - 20 Aug 2017)

Lucyna Taylor, known as Lucy, sadly passed away peacefully in hospital following a short fight with pancreatic cancer, with son Daniel and husband Martin at her side. She was aged 65 and will be greatly missed by family and the many friends she touched over her lifetime. She will be remembered as a caring selfless soul and devoted mother.
Lucy was born Lucyna Miroslawa Szwed to Polish parents Antoni and Walentina Swzed at the Lubenham Polish Camp on the 18th November 1951. Her parents came over to England during the Second World War – her father with the Polish Air Force, her mother by a tortuous route via Siberia. They were resettled within the humble surroundings of Lubenham near Market Harborough after the war where Lucy, along with her brother John, spent her early childhood within the close knit community of Polish refugees.
They subsequently moved to Nottingham, via Rugby, and settled in Sherwood where Lucy was educated at the Catholic School on Hayden Road. At age sixteen she attended an interview with the Boots Agrochemical division, in her school uniform, and her career as a research Chemist began. At the same time she studied at Peoples Collage to learn her trade. It was there that she met John Milek, also of Polish heritage, who she was to marry in June 1976. They shared a love of Volleyball, both playing for local teams – in Johns case for one of the country’s leading teams of the time in Nottingham Rockets.
Lucy’s compassion for those in need was evident from a very early age, often donating some of her pocket money to Red Cross as a child. And this was her drive within her time at Boots with initially a desire to help feed to poor through agricultural products, and later when she moved into pharmaceuticals creating drugs to help heal the sick. She was part of the team that developed Ibuprofen.
Sadly Lucy and John grew apart in the late 1980’s and eventually divorced in 1990.
It was also within the volleyball world that Lucy then met and subsequently married her second husband Martin Taylor in 1991, and in the following year their son Daniel was born. Lucy was a devoted and loving mother and her focus became centred on the family life.
After 30 years of working for Boots, when the research departments were taken over she happyily took redundancy having become uneasy with the ethics within the pharmaceutical industry. Lucy’s interests in healing had for some time moved towards alternative therapies which she pursued with vigour, from Reflexology, Reiki and acupressure to Shamanic healing and therapeutic drumming (a particular passion of hers). This interest in alternative therapies had actually started early in life, having gained qualifications in both Reflexology and Aromatherapy.
Alongside her therapeutic passions she became an auxiliary nurse, working in the orthopaedic surgical theatres at the Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham. At the same time she qualified as a Bodytalk practitioner which she continued to pursue this when she retired from nursing at the age of 60.
Lucy was a beautiful warm, caring, funny, selfless soul whose aim in life seemed to be to help as many people as she could, and the world is a poorer place without her in it. She was the life and soul of any gathering, loved quiz nights at her local pub, and loved a good pint of ale. Indeed she spent many happy hours at local beer festivals when they came around. She would do her best to help any and all she met and many that she never met. She devoted her life to healing and cared deeply for the welfare of people, animals and the planet. A rare soul who will be sadly missed. Her greatest legacy, and one she was immensely proud of, is her son Daniel and her spirit lives on within him.
Rest in peace Lucy.