The Memorial Service for Eve Inwood took place at St George’s on Tuesday 6th February. This Eulogy was read by her son Dave Inwood.
Mum was born on the 29th of November 1937, to George and Eva Hurry. She was one of 11 siblings, three boys and eight girls. In age order, George, Becky, Molly, Rose, Donna, Edna, Ted, then Mum, followed by Jack, Susanne and Shirley. They all lived together in a large Council house in Paulsgrove. When Mum was four years old, she was sent to live with Ede in Wittering. Unfortunately, Ede’s husband had died on a Royal Navy ship that was sunk by the Germans.
Ede loved having Mum with her as she gave her a purpose in life, and what was supposed to be a weekend visit ended up being five years. When Mum eventually returned home, she found it difficult to settle in as she had gone from being an only child to living with a large family again. When Mum lost her Mum, she was only 10 years old, and the family had to help with a lot of the chores around the home. This meant Mum didn’t really attend school. I don’t think Mum found her early years very easy and ended up leaving home at 15. She went to live with her sister Becky, who was married by then and had a son of her own, Terry. Mum shared a room with Baby Terry, and said it was one of the most stable and enjoyable times she had. Whilst living with her sister Mum worked in the St Mary’s Hospital laundry.
Occasionally Mum would go to the cinema with her sister Susanne, it was on one of these trips in 1954 that mum met a young man called Ted Inwood, her sister Susanne already knew Dad and his friend Eric and introduced them to Mum. Love blossomed and on New Year’s Eve 1956 they got engaged and married in August 1957. They initially lived with Dad’s family, and then onto a Police flat, eventually moving into 24 Hambledon Road in 1965 where Mum lived for the rest of her life.
Mum always spoke kindly of her Niece and Nephew, Terry and Denise, Becky’s children. Mum and Dad were married for 12 years before having their first child and really considered Terry and Denise as their surrogate children during their childless years. Denise spent a lot of time with Mum and Dad, and they really did think the world of her. Eventually in 1969 they were blessed with their own daughter. Dawn arrived and I popped along 18 months later in 1971.
Mum didn’t work, her job was looking after the family and making sure we were all well fed and happy. She was and always was a mother at heart and fussed around us 24/7. She would often read Dawn and I stories, however with her lack of schooling she wasn’t the best at reading, if there was a word she couldn’t read she just skipped over it. Many a time after Mum had finished reading Dawn and I would say, have you got any idea what that was all about? Eventually when Dawn and I were old enough to fend for ourselves she got a job in Asda looking after the plants for sale. She loved this job; it was the first time she had worked since Dawn was born and it gave her a real lease of life. As well as looking after the plants she was asked if she could keep the frozen turkeys stocked up before Christmas, this was going well until one day mum managed to fall out of the lorry with a large turkey in her hands. She was black and blue all over.
Dawn and I eventually left home. Dawn married Lee and a couple of months later I flew the nest and married Tina. Now Mum was in her element as a mother. She loved it. But being Nanna was something else. Her first Grandchild arrived with Lauren in 1995, followed by Ben in 1999, both from Dawn. Tina and I graced them with a further three, Sophie in 2000, Jack in 2002 and Lucy in 2005. Mum spent a lot of time with Lauren as a baby helping Dawn and Lee as they returned to work. Mum had a big input into Lauren’s early years, so, Dawn isn’t fully to blame for her turning into such a numpty! The Grandchildren loved a visit to Nanna and Grandad’s, there was always some sort of craft to do on the kitchen table and Mum would spend hours with them, she was in her absolute element. The Grandchildren would ask Mum to read them stories, but they were obviously smarter than Dawn and me as they would ask for stories from her mouth, which meant stories she made up rather than from a book. Kids these days aren’t stupid!
After Dad retired, Mum kept herself busy with looking after the string of Grandchildren, helping out at a toddler’s group in St George’s Church, she loved helping the young children develop and was incredibly proud of her input in giving these youngsters a start in life. Mum also loved to make cakes, she was often asked to make them for birthdays, christenings, weddings and all sorts. Mum would do all the complicated bits and then Dad would have the important job of writing on it, Mum couldn’t be trusted!! She always had a few cakes on the go, and had so many people approach her, it always kept her busy and it’s something she thoroughly enjoyed.
Mum was scatty, there is no other way of saying it, and we loved her for it. Whether it be finding a stack of coins she had put in the freezer, as she liked them to feel cold…..no I’ve no idea either. Having a pork of leg for dinner, or generally leaving things in random places…..the car keys she put in a safe place have never turned up! Her ability to call people by the wrong name is legendary, Dawn was always Denise, and occasionally Denawn, I was more often Jack, then my own name. After we lost Dad, we had to teach mum how to use complicated pieces of technology, such as the TV and a microwave. I’ve lost count of how many microwaves she went through after cooking something for 40 minutes rather than 40 seconds and setting fire to it! Lee was the designated teacher for checking her mobile phone balance and taught her weekly how to do it, before she promptly forgot and said that no one ever showed her.
As she got older, she slowed down considerably, but would still leave anyone in no doubt that she was head of the family, and would shout “Do you know who I am” if you got a bit cheeky with her. This was quite often aimed at her Granddaughter Lauren. They grew incredibly close in Mum’s later years and I know Mum loved her visits in what could have been a lonely time.
Mum was a tough old boot, she had two knee replacements. Seeing her with her traditional skirt on, sat on an exercise bike doing her physio is a sight I won’t forget. She had three bouts of Sepsis, and unfortunately the latest one was just one fight too many. I can speak for Dawn and myself when I say we couldn’t have asked for a better Mum, she always left us in no doubt how loved we were, was always on our side and supported us through thick and thin.
Our Lovely Queen once said, “Grief is the price we pay for love.” Well Mum, the level of grief I can see from our family shows you must have been incredibly loved.
