18 Village Voice December 2014 SOUTH DERBYSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL
Councillor Linda Chilton, Councillor John Harrison Councillor Jim Hewlett
ADVICE SURGERIES at Melbourne Assembly Rooms 11 am to 12 noon Saturday 3rd January Saturday 7th February Saturday 7th March “ Li s t en i n g t o Local Peo p l e”
OBITUARIES SUSIE DIXON 1912-2014 SUSIE Dixon was a remarkable woman, and not just because she lived independently for 102 years and drove her car up until September, 2014. Susie was born Susie Kitchen on March 19, 1912 – one month before the Titanic sank. She lived in Mackworth Village at a farm with her father Tom, mother Marian and sister Jessie. Her earliest memory was seeing a Zeppelin fly over the farm during World War One. She was a clever young girl and went to the local Girls’ Grammar School, Parkfield Cedars in Derby. She loved horses, her favourite was called Tommy with whom she rode to hounds. In the 1930s she moved with her family to the Crewe and Harpur at
Swarkestone. Her father donated a field to the local cricket club which is still there today. She was a keen swimmer and learned to swim in the River Trent. The Crewe and Harpur at that time was a farm, public house, administrative centre of the Crewe and Harpur Estate, bowls green and cricket ground. She raised her family there, sons John, Tommy, Roger and daughter Marion. They moved to The Poplars, Woodshop Lane, Swarkestone in the early 1960s. At this time she was a keen cyclist, carrying her daughter in a child seat on her bike to the local school. In the 1960s she moved to Barrow upon Trent. She drove a delivery van for Williamsons Butchers of Melbourne. Pets included Percy, the Canada Goose, Kitty the cat
and Endy, the Manx cat. She was a member of the Derby Swimming Club at Queen Street Baths in
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Derby and was a lifelong supporter of Derby County Football Club. She attended the FA Cup Final in 1946 to watch the Rams beat Charlton Athletic. She would always attend any fancy dress party in full Derby County kit. Up until recently she swam at the Gayton Swimming Pool at Blagreaves Lane in Derby and also the over 50s club in Barrow upon Trent. She was a regular attendee and vice-president at the Swarkestone Cricket Club where she opened the new pavilion. She broke new ground to start the building of the new Willington Surgery, and won many cookery
competitions with her pastries and cakes. She played cricket when she was 80 and incurred an injury. The doctor wrote “cricket injury” on her notes. On her 100th birthday she appeared on the BBC One show as a driving centurion and even eclipsed the other guest, Dame Helen Mirren. The researchers for the show managed to find a Bullnosed Morris car, the same type Susie had learned to drive in the late 1920s. She passed away on November 8, after listening to Derby County beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0. She departed from this world a very happy woman.
MEARN CALVERT 1944-2014 MEARN was born in Glasgow to Betty and Bob Cant, but only lived there for about six months before moving to the Midlands. She spent most of her school time in Stoke-on-Trent, where her father became MP for the Central Division in 1966. She went to train as a teacher but found this did not suit her and went to work for the Midland Bank in Hanley. This was where she met David and they married at Pittshill Methodist Church in August 1968. Later that year David was promoted to the Tarporley Branch and the bank gave Mearn a job at Chester. In 1970 he was sent to open a branch in Eccleshall where they lived for some 20 years. At this time Mearn was transferred to the Stone branch where she remained until 1972 when Neil was born and she became a full-time housewife. She devoted much of her time to various voluntary activities. Catherine arrived in 1980. In 1989 the family moved to Minsterley in Shropshire, where David became Business Manager of the, then to become, HSBC Bank, and lived there for14 years before returning to Melbourne. In all these places Mearn worked for various activities in the Methodist Church, Age Concern, the WRVS Emergency section, Women’s Institute and with the Scouts, where, in Shropshire, she with some neighbours, set up the first all-girl Cub Pack. She went with David on several international Scout Camps in Norway, Denmark and Germany as well as in the UK. In her limited free time she was
very keen on sewing and made many of her own clothes. Probably her greatest achievement was when Neil got married; she made Diane’s wedding dress and those for the bridesmaids. She was also keen on cooking and was renowned for her cakes, which were abundantly provided for many occasions. She entered preserves and other items in the large home cooking section at Eccleshall Show where she regularly won prizes and, once, the overall section cup. On their return to David’s home town of Melbourne, she joined some of the same organisations and was involved with the launch of the Athenaeum. She also worked one day per week in the Fairtrade shop. Shortly after the return the grandchildren, Josiah and Abigail came along and she was devoted to them. In early 2012, vascular dementia followed a stroke and she went into the Bluebell Park Care Home at Chellaston where she lived very contentedly until a further attack in October sadly ended her life.
STEPHEN SAMUEL WISEALL 1957-2014 STEVE grew up in Somerset where he lived a typical care-free rural life. His father worked at Hinkley Point power station and his mother as a home-help in their village. He seemed to spend his time outside in fields playing football, fishing and collecting apples for the local cider farmers. He moved up to Loughborough University to study physics and threw himself into academia, but his social life and parties are still talked of fondly. He went on to join Rolls-Royce and remained there; he was a modest man, respected by many colleagues at Rolls-Royce and universities around the world. Having married Sue they moved to Melbourne in 1991. Their two sons, Andrew and Christopher, followed in Steve’s footsteps and enjoyed playing football and rugby. Holidays were often spent camping near the Cornish coast or in Europe. Steve and Sue enjoyed Morris dancing with Blackadder Morris, much to the
embarrassment of their two sons. The dancing side meant a lot of time was spent at festivals in the UK and abroad. Steve also loved fishing and walking with friends locally. Steve immersed himself into Melbourne life. He was involved with Cubs and Scouts, was a Junior School governor, a member of MRFC, the Fit-Fat blokes and enjoyed the annual Melbourne Quiz. He will be remembered as a loving, gentle and very special person. Steve will be sadly missed by his family and many friends.