Sylvia Ransome (Passed away 17 Dec 2020)

In loving memory of Doris Sylvia Ransome who sadly passed away on 17th December 2020.

Dear family, dear friends of my mother Sylvia:

I am so pleased that we are able to hold this service in spite of the coronavirus prevalence and the consequent lockdown, yet I know that it is different and, in many ways, more difficult for us because your physical attendance is not realistically feasible. I know you would have wished to be here.

I particularly wish to thank Reverend Canon Simon Stokes, Vicar of Sprowston with Beeston St. Andrew and Rural Dean of Norwich North, for conducting the service.

I would like to say just a few words about Mum’s life:

My mother was born D. Sylvia Westgate in Bungay, Suffolk, the first child of a happy family, completed by younger brothers Bill and Russell. The family lived next to the village police station and Sargent Sawyer kept the three children on the right path. Her schooldays were spent at Sir John Lemmon school, Bungay. She was happy at school, gained her school certificate, and loved all sports; particularly tennis, sprinting and hockey, winning her Suffolk county cap.

After school she worked for Barclays bank in Bungay and Diss, and as a land girl during the War.

Her marriage to Dad was at St. Mary’s church in Bungay in 1956; they moved to London to work, and made the most of the vibrant cultural scene, including gallery visits and queueing for last-minute bargains for West End theatre seats.

Their son Peter, that’s me, was born in 1958, after which the family moved to Chelmsford for the next 20 years. Mum was an active member of the National Housewives’ register, and worked as a school dinner lady while I was at infant and primary school, then as a clerk in Chelmsford Crown Court.

In 1985 she retired from the Court and she and Dad moved from Chelmsford to Old Catton. They maintained their interest in the fine arts, visiting many European galleries together. They also attended a luncheon at Buckingham Palace for the 60th anniversary of the 1945 victories, together with 2,000 other WWII veterans.

She maintained her interest in competitions, winning several prizes both large and small, and making an annual pilgrimage to Derbyshire for the national reunion of her vibrant group of competition enthusiasts, until my father’s health started to fail and he was admitted to Broadland View Care Home in 2014. She visited him often and supported the care provided by the staff there. My mother’s own health declined in 2016 and she joined him in the same Care Home, where they had just two weeks together before he died. I would like to thank the staff and management of Broadland View for their tireless work for both my parents over the last six years. Mum passed away peacefully there two hours before her 95th birthday.

She leaves: myself, my wife Karen, and our children, her three grandchildren Charlotte, Katherine and Edward.

Rest in Peace Grandma