Claire Whitelock (17 Jul 1939 - 17 Apr 2015)

God looked around his garden,
And found an empty place.
He then looked down upon the earth,
And saw your tired face.
He put his arms around you,
And lifted you to rest;
God's garden must be beautiful-He always takes the best.
He knew that you were suffering,
He knew you were in pain;
He knew you would never get well on earth again.
He saw the road was getting rough
And hills were hard to climb
So he closed your weary eyelids, and whispered,
"Peace be thine."
It broke our hearts to lose you,
But you didn't go alone,
For a part of us went with you,
The day God called you home.

Many of you today will have known Claire in different ways; a friend, sister, loving mother, and to us
- she was our Nan. And in recent times she had become a great grandmother. Nan touched so many
of us in her own unique way and that is why today we ask you to join us and celebrate our Nan for
who she was. Celebrate the memories you have of her and cherish them as we do ours, just as she
would have wanted.
We often spoke of her as the Godfather. For those of you who aren’t familiar it’s a light hearted
reference to Mario Puzo’s fictional character Don Vito Corleone, who was a traditional family
person, thankfully the similarities stop there. Unlike Vito who was well known for being the centre of
attention, our Nan never wanted that. Although a humble person, we all knew that she was the head
of our family, and her value was never underestimated.
Nan taught us the true value of family. She showed us how to appreciate and be there one for
another; through funny times, happy times, and especially during sad times. I’m sure a lot of you will
remember sitting around her kitchen table over a cup of tea, playing (and losing) at a game of cards
– three of one, and four of the other, as she called it. The circumstances may have changed, but the
lesson learned from being together was the same, spend time with your loved ones… and never play
our Nan at cards, unless you want to lose.
She taught up to always keep moving forward with life. Through every challenge she would move
forward stronger, and with an even better sense of humour than before. We will never forget the
time she asked us to get a song for her, it was Enrique Iglesias and apparently called the ping pong
song, because it sounded like they were playing ping pong at the start of the song. It made us laugh
because it was a recent song, and a sign that our Nans music taste had become hip and cool, but she
couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. She was her own person, and didn’t change for anyone.
That’s why we loved her so much.
Thank you for coming to pay your respects today. We are privileged and proud to have known her in
the way that we did, and grateful for the fond memories we shall forever remember. So don’t get
distracted by materialistic things, and carry her spirit and message forward with you. Lastly, value
what’s important in life – family.

We were friends from the start. We did everything together. We even went to France for the day; it was Claire's dream to go to another country, we had dinner and came back on the ferry. We often played cards. I miss Claire very much!

My fondest memories of Claire are of seeing her sitting at the kitchen table, smoking a roll-up with a cup of tea. The back door was always unlocked and the kettle always on. Her favorite past time with Sharon was colouring, doing puzzles and playing cards. Claire was a kind and caring lady, who helped me when I needed it; I will never forget that. She will be sorely missed. Thinking of you Claire, Love Julie x (£25.00 Donated)

My deepest and most sincere condolences to all of you that had the pleasure of knowing and being loved by Claire. She'll always be with you.

There isn't a single day that goes by when I haven't thought about you. You were a huge part of my life and taught me so much. There is no words in the world that describe how much I miss you and I always will. Until we meet again, Nan. I love you.

Missing you more than words can describe Nan. But I know your looking down on me and I know you will continue to guide me through life like you have throughout my life. Love you so much xxx

For the 14 years I had the pleasure of knowing you and having you in my life. You are an amazing lady who will be greatly missed by many. Although my children, your great granddaughters only had you for a short while you have given us and them memories that we will carry with us and share for the rest of our lives. Forever in our hearts xx

Love you Grandma xxx