Word that Winnie has sadly died came at the end of July 2021.
Winnie grew up in Melton Mowbray, studying at Warwick University, and qualifying as a librarian before joining HMSO Norwich as an Information Officer in March 1982, working in Publications Division.
Initially resident in Frostenden Suffolk, she moved to Southrepps in N Norfolk shortly before her retirement, and was a keen walker and member of the Ramblers Association. Winnie was also a devoted cat lover, who always had a feline companion.
Winnie’s Funeral is on Friday August 27th – 9.30am at Cromer Crematorium. Friends are requested to bring flowers for Winnie with them if they can attend.
Subsequent to the funeral, her friends have planned a informal gathering on Sunday 19th September at 1pm in Reed Cottage Garden, Lower Southrepps. This Celebration of Winnie’s life will be held for all her friends to share memories of our loving and remarkable friend. Please bring a picnic, drinks and a chair, if possible. Winnie’s ashes will be scattered at the end of the day at her beloved Southrepps Common.
Jayne Wilkinson adds: I was deeply saddened to hear of Winnie’s death, not least because it was so unexpected – we had chatted on the phone only a day or so earlier, when she was in the very best of spirits.
Winnie was the most unassuming of people, but the most lovely of friends, always supportive and encouraging. When I first joined HMSO Publicity, she was a welcoming face who put up with a constant barrage of idiot questions without ever letting on that they were so. More recently, during long afternoons on the phone through the lockdown we would exchange details of local walks and feline news – hers almost always containing reports of the latest often-violent rodent killing at the paws of the ever-vigilant Pippa. Much as myself, her love of her cat companions was a constant feature: the beloved Rosie, Stanley and Pippa all being central to our discussions over the years. I will miss her companionship and cheery conversation a great deal, not to mention the annual summer parties in her lovely garden and afternoons spent musing about life over cups of tea in Norwich cafes.
