Ida May Walker

“You are no more than a thought away.”

Ida passed away in the care of Overdene House Care Home on the 8th May, aged 95 years.

A beloved sister, Ida will be sadly missed but lovingly remembered by all who knew her.

Ida was born in The Potteries, daughter of Steven and Ida Walker, and spent her formative years there until the family moved to Alsager in 1942. She was the first of 6 children born over a  20 year stretch. 3 of her siblings have predeceased her: Arthur, Stuart and Mavis.

Ida in the 1940’s worked for short periods in various jobs: a fashion store, Fodens Office, the Royal Ordinance factory at Radway Green, then in 1947 becoming a Land Army girl. She would have been one of the last to be recruited, as the Land Army was disbanded in 1950. We have a medal which was presented to her for her service.

The spell in the Land Army was not just about mud and rain and pigs and cows. It had also taken her to a new part of the country – the village of Thorpe Malsor near Kettering. Here she was to find a home from home. Not every job on the farm was a total joy – she preferred the pigs to the cows, for example –  but she came to love the local countryside, the community, and perhaps especially the local church of All Saints. She loved life on the farm and in the village so much that she stayed on at the farm for 10 years after the Land Army had folded.

She settled into a local job in Thorpe Malsor delivering for the Co-op, for which she received another medal – this time for safe driving. Then she became the manager-cum-hostess of the local Social Club,  finally retiring aged 70 into a delightful bungalow in Thorpe Malsor where she lived a very full and fulfilled life  – painting, yoga, dancing, flower arranging in church, cleaning the church, worshipping in the church, flag carrying for the local British Legion.

In due course her ashes are to be scattered under the tree in the countryside where she would sit and read.

It is only very recently that Ida came back to this part of the world which we could call her first home.

Ida never married. She had no children. But she loved the family she grew up in and the new members who were being added. She would always remember birthdays and special occasions.  And she had a massive extended family consisting of members of the Social Club at Thorpe Melsor and the local church and community. She was known as someone always ready to do a favour for anyone – whether a close family member of part of that wider extended family just mentioned. For 5 years Ida assisted in the WRVS hospital shop in Kettering. Her job in the Social club provided special opportunities to assist others. Her own flat above the club could provide generous accommodation for others.

She kept old letters and birthday cards. Some might call that hoarding. But alternatively you could see it as a way of cherishing each person who sent her a card – making sure a special memory was not lost.

She enjoyed very many family holidays with siblings and nephews and nieces over the years. Some holidays would be like a postcard holiday at the seaside –playing games on the beach. Some were much grander – to Australia and parts of Europe.

As Ida became frailer she has been particularly well served by her sister Valerie. Despite her own later diagnosis of breast cancer, Valerie cared for Ida after her Bowel Cancer op in 2015. Well done Valerie!

Ultimately Ida needed a Care Home.

In summary we can say of Ida that she was:

A loving caring person. Love and relationships lie at the heart of what it is to be human and are intimations of the God of Love who will take care of Ida.

Going with this –she was a people person. There for others. What a wonderful opportunity she had to befriend others in her role as manager at the Social Club! To listen! To share! To support. We should never underestimate the potential for being there for others – whether you are a hairdresser, a nurse, a shop keeper, a neighbour, a dog walker.

She was an artistic person. You can see that in various ways. Floristry, painting, dancing, the way Ida dressed. By the way, she had some exotic outfits to wear for special occasions in the Social Club. Through art we enter a realm which transcends ourselves. We bring pleasure to others. We give of ourselves. Ida now leaves you artistic tokens of herself. An interesting example of that would be three paintings she did of the village which were later printed as Christmas Cards.

She was an adventurer! Ida was not afraid to venture outside the local patch. Living in new places! Distant holidays!  And not afraid to go topless on European beaches!

But, above all, Ida was a spiritual person who found Christian faith and worship meaningful and uplifting.

She believed God’s promises to give eternal life to us. In God’s love Ida lives on and in that same love those who have loved Ida will see her again.

A service of rememberance for Ida will take place in the Crematorium Chapel, Crewe on Tuesday 31st May at 10.45am, followed by cremation.

Donations in memory of Ida will be gratefully received on behalf of Cancer Research UK.

For any further information please contact our funeral home on 01270 584447.