Ivy Hooker

Mum, Ivy, died on the 17th April 2012, 6 days after the funeral of ' her Ted', her partner for 71 years .

In the local 'THE BRIDGE 2011' magazine they were mentioned as ' the oldest sweethearts in Godmanchester' their mixed ashes are now together again below a commemorative plaque in Garden of Remembrance at Saint Marys Church Godmanchester.

To my dearest Nanny Ivy,

It still feels so strange that you have gone. You've left such emptiness behind in my life and I already miss you so much.

I am so grateful for all the time we got to spend together over the last two years and how close we became.

Caring for you was such a pleasure and bought so much fulfillment to my life, yet now you are gone I realise there was so much I should of said to you and so much I should have thanked you for yet never did.

Firstly thank you for being you. Your strength of character, your honesty (though sometimes too honest for some!) your work ethic, your kindness and your great sense of humor have been something for me to both admire and aspire to.

Thank you for the numerous caravan and camping trips over the years and for always getting so involved in them.

Thank you for showing me all the sights of London and with such enthusiasm.

Thank you for cheering me on until I finished at a swimming competition despite me being the only person left in the pool because I was doing breast stroke and everyone else had been doing front crawl.

Thank you for all those morning cups of tea in bed accompanied by a custard cream or two whenever we came to stay.

Thank you for all the clothes, fancy dress outfits, pyjamas, bean bags, and new bodies for my bunny that you made over the years.

Thank you for introducing me to bingo!

Thank you for not shouting at me when I spilt a whole bottle of food colouring over your kitchen carpet.

Thank you for always looking so happy to see me when I used to visit you in hospital after you had your first stroke.

Thank you for telling me that I could be anything in the world that I wanted to be and for always encouraging me in all my endeavors.

Thank you for teaching me the importance of family and for always encouraging me to be my own person and to make my own decisions.

Thank you for passing down to me your love of dancing, your shapely legs and your eye for a good frock!

Thank you for your grace and humility when you could no longer take care of yourself, and for thanking me without fail every single day that I helped to get you dressed.

Thank you for making me feel truly appreciated and for helping me believe in true love so that I didn't settle until I'd found my own Ted!

Thank you for staying alive long enough so that my children got to know you and have a relationship with you and for all the great memories we now have to treasure of you.

Thank you for always being so proud of me and loving me.

You have left behind a hole that shall never be filled, but a part of you shall forever live on in me.

I will think of you often and miss you always.

I like to picture you now in a beautiful garden of roses dancing around carefree with granddad and I look forward to the day when I shall join you both, but until then goodbye my dearest nanny Ivy, please know that you were truly loved not only by me but by all those whose lives you touched and changed for the better... we shall miss you ...

You will never know what you have meant to me but I hope that this letter has helped.

All my love now and always your Jessica x

order of service Ivy Hooker.pdf

IVY DOROTHY HOOKER

Born 20^th September 1918 died 17^th April 2012.

Ivy was born in Hackney to Tom and Elizabeth Aggus. She had an elder sister Binnie and younger sister Vera.

At the age of 14 she gained a scholarship to the Shoreditch technical college where she studied and qualified as a tailoress. She met Ted Hooker through their mutual passion for ballroom dancing and were married in 1941. Ted went off to war leaving Ivy doing her bit for the war effort making battle blouses for the lads on the front line. Ivy always loved singing and was often heard singing at workers playtime and entertaining the troops when back in blighty. Eldest son Alan can recall a record made by Ivy of Bless you for being an angel **

unfortunately this disc is no longer with us as Alan also recalls it being a favourite propeller for his aeroplane (two wooden chairs laid on the floor with the record pinned to a leg!)

Ivy lived through the London blitz despite a few near misses and had many tales of life down Bethnal Green railway station in the relative safety of the underground platforms and family gatherings down flooded Nissen huts in back gardens.

Nine months after Ted returned from the war their first son Alan was born. Ted then went off to South Africa for a few years to make his fortune. Ivy coped as best she could in an upstairs flat in Claude Rd, Leytonstone, overlooking a bombsite stretching four streets across (one of the near misses!).

Two years later son Martin arrived followed by Terry. At this point the family moved to Walthamstow, having been lent 900 by Ivys sister Binnie and husband Sid, with which to purchase 18 Lynmouth Road. Ivy supplemented the family income by taking in outdoor machining the noise of which was a constant soundtrack to life in the Hooker household. Her youngest son Terry was born with a hole in his heart which was eventually closed by pioneering surgeon Mr. Bonham Carter, using ground breaking open heart surgery when Terry was 13. In the meantime Ivy always kept a wary eye out for her youngest, who had been nicknamed Goliath due to stunted physical growth caused by his condition. She started work at the local school as a teaching assistant and welfare lady, probably to keep an eye on her little one who in fact was capable of kicking the stuffing out of his two elder brothers. But only when Ivy wasnt looking of course!

Once Ted had a car family weekend outings became the summer norm. with Ivys headstrong enthusiasm causing a few laughs for the family during these excursions. On a visit to the Norfolk Broads as the hire boat was being moored the family dog, Trixy, leapt ashore keen to stretch her legs. She dashed across a small footbridge spanning a ditch to get to an adjoining field. Ivy, now on the river bank, pursued the dog taking the direct route as the crow flies. The green at the bottom of the ditch turned out to be duck weed in over 3 feet of water! Ivy ended up to her chest in the stuff with her fringe stuck to her forehead! Trixy thought this looked great fun and leapt in on top of her to everyone elses delight. Martin recalls a similar outcome when Ivy, at age 70, was visiting his boat. She decided she could board without assistance. With her feet on the bank and hands holding the side rail of the boat it soon became apparent the boat was drifting away with Ivy forming a human gang plank. Again she ended up covered in sludge and again getting a good laugh!

Her skills as tailoress were also a constant feature in her life. She was often making clothes for the boys, in particular a duffel coat for Alan to go with his ban the bomb badge. The functional Brown look popular at the time didnt appeal to her. Alans grand entrance at school wearing his new duffel coat was to become part of Coppermill Road Senior Schools folklaw. Black with white spots never did take on as a duffel coat trend but it sure kept everyone amused for some time!

Her love of dancing was another constant throughout her life, with she and Ted skipping the light fantastic at every opportunity. It was not unusual for them to practise the foxtrot and quickstep in the living room despite the space restrictions!

In 1995 Ivy and Ted, aged 77, moved to Godmanchester. Ivy had packed most of her possessions in tea chests 4 months previously! the tension and excitement causing her to have her first stroke on moving day! She has spent the past 16 years enjoying having her family around her and taking things a bit easier. With Granddaughters Jessica and Bonnie cooking and caring for her over the past few years until her move into the Hillings care home in January this year after a spell in hospital following a couple of falls.

At 93 the loss of her beloved dance partner Ted proved too much to bear and three weeks after his death she slipped peacefully away to join him, with son Terry and daughterinlaw Kathy at her side.

** The Inkspots version of this is our choice for the reflection.