Auntie Mary - Mary Storey (1926 - 2021)
Nobody could ignore Auntie Mary. She sparkled and was fun to be with. With her smart outfits and red lipstick she took centre stage. However, it wasn’t just her appearance that made an impression, but the way she spoke. The inflexions of her voice were never dull or monotonous, but inherently lively, emphatic and interesting to listen to, and it wasn’t just the words she used, but the way she used them that mattered, and she used those words to reach out to people and to put them at their ease. Apparently she was able to put on a show from a young age. When she was 3 her uncle Bill would play "The Sugar Plum Fairy" to her and would encourage her to dance with the words "Do your steps".
We saw Mary every few months during our childhood. She was my dad Frank's first cousin and as a young man he had lodged with Mary's mother Aunt Adeleine at Regent Street in Clowne, so she was the nearest thing he had to a sister.
Sometimes Mary would pick us up from Barlborough and take us to her home in Worksop for a visit. Each time there was the welcome ritual of tea and biscuits on the nesting coffee tables and story upon story, mainly about her work as a teacher.
She was passionate about her job as a primary school teacher at Langold school and proud to be head of English there. It was obvious that she wanted to widen the horizons of the children. On one occasion she bought a class set of tales from Shakespeare and was disappointed that the budget didn't stretch to allowing each child to keep a personal copy.
We are very sorry to lose Mary, the last relative of our dad’s generation. She will remain in our hearts.
Jane Riley
19/06/2021
