Susan Gleave

“Our memories build a special bridge and bring us peace of mind.”

Sue sadly passed away on 29th December in the care of Leighton Hospital, aged 72 years.

The beloved wife of Rick. A devoted mum of Louise, Gillian and Sarah. Sue will be sadly missed but lovingly remembered by all who knew her.

A service to celebrate Sue’s life took place on Tuesday 18th January at Vale Royal Crematorium Chapel at 11am.

For any further information regarding Sue’s funeral please contact our funeral home on 01270 584447.

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Sue was devoted to her three girls, Louise, Gill and Sarah, a dear mother-in-law to
Darren, Alistair and Issam, a much-loved nanna to Charlotte, Emily and Alfie but
nanny to Holly and nanna to her furry grandchildren, Minxi, Poppet and the late
Smudge.
Growing up, Sue and her siblings Philip and the late Ann and Kenny were all very
close and enjoyed many family togethers in years gone by. Sue was also a much-
loved sister-in-law to Christine, Liz and Mike and the late Jane.
And the cousins were also close, Sue was an Auntie, Great Auntie and friend to
many.
A real character, Sue lived life true to herself, a force to be reckoned and fiercely
protective of her girls. She would never let anyone hurt them, yet it was never a
case of wait ‘til your dad gets home! She had a particularly stern look when she
meant business!
She was completely devoted to her family and ideally would have liked four children.
She always joked about the sacrifices she made as a dedicated mum and wife, but
she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She was super-efficient, with the quickest
turnaround of school uniforms in the West! She kept everywhere immaculate, grew
her own fruit and veg and cooked everything from scratch, in fact the house and
garden were her pride and joy, even in later years despite losing her mobility.
Sue was incredibly sociable and extremely chatty with a smile that was bright
enough to light up any room. The life and soul of the party, she had a brilliant sense
of humour and loved to laugh.
Sue made her appearance in a maternity home in Bowden, Altrincham just over
seventy-two years ago, the third of four children born to Alfred and Ellen Gallimore,
The family lived on Middlewich Road in Stanthorne, opposite to Rudheath School
and after leaving at the age of sixteen, Sue began a career in office work
progressing to the role of secretary and becoming a brilliant touch typist – which
came in very handy later on when helping the girls with their homework, especially
typing Gill’s dissertation which was extremely late!
She was also sixteen when she met the love of her life Rick at the Monday Social
Club. But was it love at first sight? It clearly was for Rick, his attempts to woo his
sweetheart included regularly turning up outside her house inventing yet another
puncture but when her dad inspected the tyres, he didn’t find any evidence of one – I
bet he knew Rick was just sneaking in another visit.
Courting for two years, they used to go on the bus to Frith Beach with Sunday
School, she was a Sunday School teacher at St Johns. They also loved going on
coastal rides with Ann and Geoff to Colwyn Bay and Llandudno and they got the odd
overnighter to Blackpool, but Sue’s mum would book rooms on separate floors.

They got engaged at eighteen and married at twenty-one on 17 th October 1970 at St
Helens in Northwich with a honeymoon in sunny Morecambe. They started married
life in Moulton then moved to Rudheath where Louise and Gill were welcomed into
the world followed by Sarah five years later.
The three of them remember being blessed with a brilliant childhood, they can all
recall their mum cycling everywhere because Rick always had the car, and well
before helmets became compulsory, Sarah used to sit in a bright orange plastic seat
at the back of her mum. She had various jobs to fit around the children and school
hours but as they got older, she found her niche as a PA to the Plant Manager at ICI.
Sarah has fond memories of playing Bagatelle whilst visiting nanna and the fun filled
caravan holidays staying with nana and granddad Gleaves in Llandudno or at Auntie
Liz and Uncle Mikes in Treorchy South Wales with fantastic scenery around them.
As they got a little older, they used to go on coach trips, staying in hotels at places
like Bournemouth and the Isle of Wight and they always seemed to go somewhere at
the weekend with family.
Every time they went out in the car, Sue would blast out Daniel O’Donnell for most of
the journey, adding to her collection of CDs whenever they went round the markets.
The girls talked about their regular trips to Blackpool with Kenny, Jane, Mark and
Nicola. Sarah laughed as she told me about the time, they visited the Heights of
Abraham and whilst they were on the cable car, Sarah quipped “what would happen
if it snapped mum?” Once they reached the top – Sue decided to walk down!
Sue had a great fashion sense and loved shopping especially for shoes and she
would insist on trailing round all the shoe shops to find a pair she liked.
Gill said her mum always dressed beautifully and she particularly remembers her in
a pencil skirt with a neat blouse. Each morning she would do her hair and makeup in
the kitchen. Her mirror, makeup bag and curling tongs were all in her little beauty
corner on the draining board. She always used Rimmel lipstick, and her favourite
colour was amethyst then when it went out of stock, she bought heather shimmer,
she liked a bit of shimmer. Her earliest perfume was Japanese Musk, she also liked
Chanel Coco Mademoiselle but in recent years she wore Angel, a very distinctive
smell.
She loved a good night out, especially going to Winsford with Jane for a game of
bingo. She enjoyed line dancing with Gill and Sarah and tap dancing with Louise
and she was always up on the dance floor whenever there was a disco – especially
Shania Twain, ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ or her other favourites, Queen, the Bee
Gees, Abba and Billy Joel.
She was an avid reader and possibly her favourite author was Agatha Christie. She
encouraged the girls to read from a young age and they grew up with books by Enid
Blyton, the Magic Tree and Mallory Towers.

She spent many a Friday night in the Broken Cross Pub, her Saturday night viewing
included the Brucy favourites like the Generation Game, The Price is Right and Play
Your Cards Right. She also enjoyed 3:2:1 with Dusty bin and Bullseye and if they
weren’t out or away for the weekend, she liked a traditional Sunday dinner with
Roast Beef, she much preferred traditional English food but on Sundays, it had to be
beef.
Sue’s smile lit up any room, she will be sadly missed. May she rest in peace.