Maureen Anne Snow (10 Apr 1954 - 21 Mar 2020)

Maureen’s journey began on the 10th April in 1954 when she was born to Elma and John Carpenter in Hemel Hempstead, and not long afterwards the Carpenter family was made complete with the happy arrival of Sheila, who Maureen called her “little dister”. 1959 saw the family move to number 16 on Queens Walk in Harrow, which is where Maureen and Sheila grew up, and where Elma and John stayed until the time came when they needed to move to warden aided accommodation in Hove. The family have many happy memories from this home, spanning five generations.
One particular memory Maureen liked to recall was when she and Sheila were being rather mischievous during a mealtime and so as a punishment their parents sent them out to the shed to finish their food. Well, this proved to be the best punishment ever; they could do things like put their elbows on the table and talk with their mouths full to their hearts content. Unfortunately for Maureen and Sheila, this punishment was not to be repeated but it always brought a smile to their faces to think of that perfect dinner.

After beginning her education at Bridge Junior School Maureen attended Heriots Wood Grammar School For Girls from September 1965 to the summer of 1972. This was a significant period in Maureen’s life because, not only did she obtain her O levels (which are now called GCSEs) and her A levels, but Maureen made three very special friends, who remained her friends throughout her life. Lindsey Matthews, Helen Evans and Dorothy Moore have supported Maureen through the good times and the bad, and I know she will be sorely missed by them all.

In the 1960s Mum worked her way up to achieving grade 3 in playing the piano, and the qualifications she obtained at O level were in French, Maths, Food & Nutrition, English Language, History, Greek Literature, Spanish and Biology. The A level qualifications she obtained were in French and Maths. Then in 1971 Maureen passed her theoretical and practical driving examinations.

Mum kept her Pupil Report Book from Heriots Wood and, as with your messages of condolences, there were similarities throughout the messages from her Teachers. Maureen worked steadily whilst showing attentiveness and an interest in her subjects. She was a helpful, sensible and pleasant pupil, if a little quiet, but was deserving of success. I don’t think much has changed really.

Maureen wasted no time in acquiring full time employment as an Accounts Clerk for The British Oxygen Company from September 1972, and for the next nine years would work her way up in her role to Senior Cost Accounts Clerk and then Co-ordinator For Computerisation Of Capital Assets. To quote Mum’s CV; The job mostly consisted of figure work, compiling cost account reports for Head Office, maintaining stock and capital asset records and reconciling accounts.

In her personal time, Maureen was involved with her local Church; she was a Sunday School teacher and through the Church she also did voluntary work at Northwick Park Hospital. At a house party where the young people from her Church and another Church gathered together, Maureen met a man called Roland Ewart Snow – known as Ewart. After a mere 10 days, Ewart proposed to Maureen, and she had clearly been swept off her feet as she accepted. The two married on the 30th of April in 1977 at Trinity Church in Harrow and set up home together in Watford.
Exactly four years later Maureen’s employment at BOC was terminated on the grounds of redundancy, however by this time Maureen was expecting her first child; so hopefully my arrival in September took the sting out of that experience. Maureen embraced becoming a full time Mum and in May 1983 I was joined by my brother, David.

During the 1980s and 1990s Mum supported me and David with our education and our hobbies. Mum came to our school and helped pupils by carrying out activities such as swimming observation, holding cooking classes, helping with sewing classes, computer classes and maths classes. She was a co-ordinator for a babysitting circle, she was an assistant Cub Scout leader and an assistant Beaver Scout leader. In keeping with her generous spirit, Mum was also a blood donor and she received her silver badge for making 25 donations.

In the summer of 1991 the Inland Revenue relocated to Nottingham. Our Dad was employed as a Civil Servant with them and made the decision to continue working for them, which entailed the four of us moving up here and settling in Wollaton. As David and I approached our late teens, Mum entered back into the world of paid employment and acquired a part time role as a Sales Assistant in our local greengrocers; she was there from 1998 until 2000.
It was at this time that Mum and Dad’s marriage ended, so Mum, David and I moved out of the family home and into a smaller house nearby. In the June of this year Mum secured a position as a Revenue Assistant in the Human Resources Division of the Inland Revenue, while our Dad went to pursue a life in Brazil.

With her new-found independence, Maureen flourished and made a success of herself at work. In 2008 she was awarded a bonus in recognition of her exceptional work to review and redraft some important documentation, which involved liaising with colleagues in Belfast. She received a personal letter from the Head of Inheritance Tax and Trusts, which commended her on setting an excellent example to her colleagues as well as her commitment and her dedication to the task.
Maureen varied her roles in the Inland Revenue; working on the Helpline, in the Service Team and ending with the Sift Station. She took the decision to retire in June 2016 but she didn’t leave empty-handed. It was here that Maureen made another special friend, Adrian Wright, with whom she has enjoyed weekly catch-ups ever since. He was a valued friend and David and I were pleased that Mum had found someone local to share some time with, and we are sure that his Tuesday afternoons won’t ever be quite the same without their conversations about the correct use of apostrophes.

In Maureen’s leisure time she experimented with various past-times such as going to rock & roll dancing lessons and film nights with David. In 2000 Maureen strived to improve her computer skills by gaining her Stage 1 RSA CLAIT certificate. Maureen also had some German lessons and achieved two credits for speaking and listening skills at Level One in 2002. Since 2001 Maureen has been a member of the Friends Of Bramcote Ridge, and their Chair, Helene Laanest, kindly sent me these words for Maureen’s funeral service:
“On behalf of the Friends of Bramcote Ridge I would like to say how shocked and sad we all are to hear of Maureen’s sudden death. Maureen was a valued member of the Friends’ group and served on the committee for the past 14 years. She had in fact been a member of the Friends group since 2001 – 19 years of voluntary service. She rarely missed a working session and always came full of enthusiasm and energy. She had a passion for the Ridge and all the creatures and plants that inhabit it and gladly gave up her time and energy to help improve and preserve it. Our thoughts are with you, her family at this sad time, made doubly difficult due to the Corona Virus situation. Maureen will be sorely missed by us all.”
Thank you Helene.

In 2004, for her 50th birthday I organised a surprise long weekend in a Centre Parcs chalet in Reading for Mum, David and me. While we were there we also had a surprise party for Mum, which some of you who were watching the funeral service attended. I’d also arranged for the three of us to be transported there and back in a stretch limousine, so we certainly celebrated in style.

In the July of 2006 Maureen went on a very special holiday with Sheila to Russia, where she particularly enjoyed walking round Red Square and St. Basil’s Cathedral. In 2014, on her 60th birthday we took Mum to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, and were lucky enough that the organ player happened to be there at the same time and I asked him to play Happy Birthday To You for Mum. It’s the largest privately owned organ in Europe, so that was a wonderful moment.

David and I were privileged to have had Mum at our weddings, mine in 2011 and David and Ruth’s in 2018. Mum had been looking forward to a peaceful, relaxing, quiet retirement but my husband and I decided to shake things up a bit and we gave her three grandchildren; Lizzy, Jonathan and Catherine, aged 6, 4 and 2 respectively. Mum enjoyed being a Grandma and their visits to her bungalow, and her visits to us, and there are now 3 little broken hearts in our home.

Maureen was also a member of the Wollaton Library Reading Group, run by Helen Pollard. I had the pleasure of meeting Helen when I returned Mum’s books to the library and she gave me an amusing anecdote, which gave me a much needed giggle, and which I hope Mum wouldn’t mind me sharing with you on here. The group is held in the evening so the door is locked inside, Mum heard someone banging on the door and let him in. The thing was, this gentleman wasn’t someone who was on a quest to improve upon his literary knowledge. This gentleman was highly intoxicated and sat there for the duration of the meeting looking rather bewildered because poor Helen was unable to encourage him to pop along to the pub next door.

Maureen is a selfless lady, and despite living by herself on her pension, she chose to share her income with several charities including Alzheimer’s Society, Shelter, British Heart Foundation, The Salvation Army and British Red Cross.

She did manage to treat herself as well though, and at the end of her life she was having her kitchen and bathroom refurbished. Sadly, she never got to see or use them, but even the company who she chose to carry out the work fell in love with her. I will be forever grateful to Tony and his employees at AWP for their consideration of Mum as I was giving her palliative care at home while they finished the job.

The last thing Maureen enjoyed was her holiday in Swansea, staying with Sheila and Neil so that she could attend their Civil Partnership and present them with their rings. This was an emotional moment as these rings had belonged to their parents, which had been exchanged on their 60th wedding anniversary. It was during this holiday, in mid-February, that Maureen started to feel unwell and even delayed her return home by a day because her symptoms were quite considerable.

Upon her return home, Mum tragically deteriorated on a daily basis. I stayed with her to care for her day and night until the 16th of March when she required professional medical care in hospital. Mum slipped away in my arms on the 21st and was finally free of the pain and suffering, and is now at peace.

Someone recently said to me that we don’t choose our battles but we fight them, and Mum fought this battle with bravery, dignity and strength. David and I were overwhelmed by her courage and positivity, and are so proud of her.

We will all remember her in our own ways, but if I can offer some comfort I would like to say that Mum was ready to be set free from her physical being and her passing was peaceful. She told me that she’d enjoyed her life and had felt loved.

Please take her memory with you, hold her in your hearts and let her love shine on in you forever. Thank you.