IN MEMORIAM

at Manchester University. She was appointed as teacher of Classics at Manchester High School, and in 1979 became Head of Classics at Bolton School Girls Division. She was a loyal member of the Manchester Classical Association and she and her mother were regular participants in the annual Association outings to Roman archaeological sites organised by the late Anthony Whitehead. Despite her distinguished career in education, Elizabeth felt that her vocation lay in parish ministry and even as a child appears to have been aware of a calling to ordination. Her sisters remember how she challenged the church curate with the question "Why can't women become vicars?" “Well maybe someday they will”, he replied. In due course the ordination of women became a reality and Elizabeth was accepted for ordination in 2005, strongly supported by her church congregation and clergy. She thus fulfilled her lifelong ambition and devoted the rest of her life to ministry in her parish and community. As Assistant Minister at Deane Church Elizabeth watched over the older ladies of the congregation, most of whom lived alone. Before the pandemic she took Holy Communion to the local care homes on a regular basis and helped to lead the Ladies’ Guild. Her preaching was biblical, and well researched. Her hospitality was unbounded. Parish ministry meetings were often held in her house and at Christmas they enjoyed seeing the lovely nativity sets which she had collected on her travels. Elizabeth will be sadly missed by her two sisters, Lynda and Catherine, and their families to whom she was devoted. She was a caring and much-loved friend to all who knew her and who will have memories of her good company, her sense of humour and her infectious laugh. The School community, parish and town have lost a loyal servant. She will be greatly missed and remembered with affection, gratitude and great admiration.

Kathleen Zimak (née Smith, Class of 1961; Girls’ Division Staff, 1969-1979) Muriel Shaw (Girls’ Division Staff, 1949-1961) At the start of the Autumn Term 1952, we headed to a cloister formroom for Lower IV A to discover that our form-teacher was Miss Shaw, and that she would also be teaching us Geography. I remained one of her students, loving Geography, until the Upper VI when she left the seven-strong A Level class bereft when she went to do an advanced course. Nevertheless, three of that group read Geography at university: Valerie Stevens (née Deans, 19511958), Susan Garnett (née Parry, class of 1958) and myself. She did return to School for some time before pursuing a career in teacher education, and later in educational administration in her home county of Cheshire. I don’t now remember how I stayed in touch with her at that time, but I did, and we remained correspondents for years, meeting occasionally, as at the School’s 100th Birthday celebrations in 1977. I once visited her home on the Wirral which was relatively close to where we were staying. For many years Muriel enjoyed a friendship with Margo Lumb who lived nearby. They holidayed together, enjoying bird watching and visiting National Trust properties amongst other things. I always assumed that they had become friends in the early fifties at Bolton when Margo, as Miss Weaving, taught PE. We were all very upset when she suffered a serious climbing accident during our first year and was away from School for some time. After retiring Muriel bought a holiday home in Scotland. It was a lovely apartment in a small, Adam-designed castle just East of Perth. Her sitting room had a marvellous view down the Tay Valley, ideal for bird watching. Given my by then Scottish location she visited us and we reciprocated. I still have some magenta-coloured primula plants which are sub-divisions of a gift from Muriel. We had many stimulating discussions over lunch or afternoon tea. Eventually, she decided to sell the flat and ceased her long drives up and down the M6, M74 and M9, so she no longer dropped in for a meal en route. In recent years our contact has been by post and latterly somewhat one way as she suffered from macular degeneration which meant that someone else had to read her letters to her and write her Christmas cards. I tried to select postcards to send with bold colours and striking landforms which hopefully she could still discern. My husband and I will miss her.

Eileen Turner (née Milner, 1951-1958)

Audrey Binks (née Schofield, 1946-1954) - Died 27th February 2022 Olwyn Chappell (née Baggs, Girls’ Division Staff, 1949-1950) - Died 28th September 2021 Edith Clayton (1929-1935) - Died 30th December 2020 Kathleen ‘Kate’ Cowpe (née Riding, 1956-1963) - Died 1st September 2019 Josephine Venise Curry (née Hewitt, Class of 1955) - Died 14th May 2021 Penelope Mary Hilton (née Kay, 1938-1947) - Died 1st August 2021 Mrs Doreen Alice Lilley (née Roscow) - Died 17th September 2021 Patricia Peet (née Taylor, 1958-1965) - Died January 2021 Eileen Pepper (née Greenwood, 1940-1947) - Died 28th February 2022

1970 Leavers enjoy lunch at the ‘0’ Class Reunion, September 2021 Back, L-R: Shirley Sheehy (née Deeks), Janet Hutson (née Wright), Sheila Fisher (née Platt) Front, L-R: Elizabeth Hayward (née Rigby), Cherrill Lee (née Gratrix), Aileen Valentine (née Warren), Vanessa Barnes (née Pietre)