Gwendoline Thelma Tudor (29 Aug 1935 - 17 May 2019)

In loving memory of Gwendoline Thelma Tudor who sadly passed away on 17th May 2019, aged 83 years.

All flowers welcome at the funeral service.

Gwendoline Thelma Dent was born on the 29th August 1935 in a small 2 up 2 down terrace house on Rawsons Row in Basford.
Her father was a talented toolmaker who could turn his hand to making or mending anything, from bicycles to shoes, watches and clocks. Her mother was a 4’11” dynamo who managed the home, worked in the family shop, and raised Gwen and her older brother and was adored by her children and husband
Gwen had a huge family, with 13 sets of Aunties and Uncles. Her father’s side of the family called her Gwen as it was her father’s choice of first name for her. Her mother wanted her to be called Thelma which became her middle name, but all her mother’s side of the family called her Thelma, so she got used to recognising which side of the family was sending her cards without even opening the envelopes
The house on Rawsons Row became too small so they moved not far away to Delta Street. Gwen used to talk about her memories of living there during the war, the evacuee they looked after, the rationing when the kids used to fight over who would have the top of their dad’s boiled egg as there was only one. Gwen remembers her mum being disgusted as to how dirty the air raid shelters were so refused to go down, making everyone hide under the ‘bomb proof’ dining table if the sirens went off!
Gwen left school at 15, trained to be a touch typist, and got her first job in the typing pool at a Nottingham wine Merchants called Skinner and Rook. Gwen didn’t care for her manager, who was arrogant and a bit of a bully. One day, the wife of the joint owner, Mrs Skinner asked Gwen to type a letter for her. As she was the bosses wife, Gwen took out the piece of work she was typing and started the letter for Mrs Skinner. Her manager came along and shouted at her to continue with the work that he had given her, so she stopped the letter for Mrs Skinner and went back to the original letter. Mrs Skinner came back for her letter, and shouted at Gwen when it wasn’t finished, making her continue with it… Waiting until after Mrs Skinner had left the room, the manager came back and shouted at Gwen again, telling her to take the letter out and put his work back in……so…...she looked at him…stood up…put on her coat and walked out.
On the way home she passed by a packaging company called P P Payne, on the off chance she walked in and was immediately offered a job. She always said it was the best thing she did, as she loved working there. She used to catch a bus into town during her lunch break and danced the hour away to jazz and rock and roll at the Palais, or had lunch with her friends on the lawn of Nottingham Castle.
Gwen then met Mick Tudor, who lived in the next street along from her, they fell in love and married in 1957. As Mick was in the army completing his National Service, they lived with Gwen’s parents for the first few years of their married life. In 1958, their son Michael was born, and two years later, along came Heather, a little faster than expected with Gwen having to make do with the ambulance men and her front room carpet rather than the hospital!
After Heather was born it was getting a little cramped at Delta Street so the family moved out to a brand new house in a village called Rothley in Leicestershire, where in 1963 Jackie was born, this time deliberately at home with a midwife and Mick in attendance.
Gwen felt isolated in the small village, with two bus rides with three small children anytime she wanted to visit her family, so in 1968 they moved to West Bridgford. Gwen loved the house on Melton Road, and she developed her passion for gardening in the ¼ acre of land surrounding the house. She could always remember the latin name for plants and flowers, even when she got to the age when she maybe forgot what she did the day before!
Gwen devoted most of her time to her family and home, but she did have a variety of part time jobs, the most rewarding of which was working at the care home for the disabled on Loughborough Road where the residents loved her as she always had a kind word and worked hard to make sure they were comfortable and cared for
She was a wonderful mother, always kind and patient, firm but fair and a stickler for good manners. She took the time to pass on many life skills to her children, how to cook and how to bake, sewing, embroidery, knitting, but especially how to be respectful and polite and to care for others.
In 1975, Mick decided to uproot the family and emigrate to South Africa, and despite her reservations, Gwen loyally supported him, but was secretly relieved when the adventure was short lived, and they moved back to England. After a short and very cramped stay back at Delta Street, they moved to Eltham Road, which was to become Gwen’s home for the rest of her life.
Gwen loved her holidays and days trips out, whether it was trips to the seaside with the kids on the Jolly Fisherman train to Skegness, or travelling abroad with Mick on luxury holidays in the Mediterranean, with her most favourite country being Italy.
Gwen and Mick were members of the National Trust, and Gwen loved to visit Stately Homes, usually coming home with a cutting or two snuck into her bag from the grounds. After Mick sadly passed away in 2013, Gwen went on day trips and holidays with her daughters instead, to Malta and Majorca, and to Chester when she was no longer strong enough to fly.
Gwen was a wonderful grandmother to her four grandchildren, David, Mark, Jennifer and Rebecca. She looked after David and Mark when Heather was at work, and the boys remember running around her beautiful garden in the sunshine and seeing how high the could get the garden swing to rock before being told off by grandad. They would sit and watch Magic Roundabout on the tele eating mini milk ice creams or drive grandma nuts riding up and down the stair lift that had been installed for their Great grandma (this particular form of entertainment has continued to provide great fun for their own children, Joshua, Isabelle and Lydia)
Jenny and Becky remember fondly the visits to grandma’s house, playing with her big jar of buttons, having lunch with grandmas special boiled eggs with faces drawn on for Jenny, and milk bread and ham sandwiches for Becky, with a chocolate biscuit from the fridge as a treat.
All the cousins had picnics on the lawn in the summer and loved to feed the fish in grandma’s pond. Mark loved the pond so much he decided one frozen winter it would be good fun to use as a skating rink, Christopher Dean he wasn’t, and had to be fished out by grandma after David came running up the garden shouting that Mark had fallen though the ice.
Gwen and Mick were happily married for 56 years before he passed away from cancer in 2013. As a widow Gwen took great comfort in her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her son Michael lived with her and helped cook their meals, always remembering to make sure mum was taking her tablets. She and her daughters were ladies who lunched every Saturday, plus a coffee and cake in the week whenever possible.
Without Mick to grumble about ‘how many cardigans can one woman need’, Gwen indulged her passion for Cashmere and managed to expand her knitwear and clothing collection to three wardrobes and several chests of drawers. She believed a woman could never have too much jewellery either and her daughters and granddaughters all have a bit of her bling on today as a tribute to her.
She loved animals too and over the years had several ‘pets with personalities’…. A slightly demented Labrador called Cindy, a feisty Westie called Sandy, and her adored but very snooty cat called Sammi, who now has Michael to wait on her every desire. The girls also loved the succession of furry hamsters which they had growing up, keeping Gwen busy hunting them down every time they escaped or were left in an armchair when being played with while getting ready for school!
Gwen always had her faith to comfort her, she was a regular churchgoer and for many years was part of the St Giles church community, caring for the church and attending charity events and coffee mornings with her friends. When she became too frail to attend services she always kept her prayer books and bible to hand
Gwen will always be remembered as a gentle, kind and compassionate lady, she was a wonderful wife to Mick and the best mother and grandmother to her children and grandchildren.
She was strong and stoic, selflessly giving her time to look after others, caring for both her father and then her mother in law who lived with her in their final years, and her husband when he became ill. Her children have felt privileged to have been able to care for her when she became frail, to give back to her a small part of the time and patience she had given to them over the years.