Mum (Maggie / Margaret) Mum, and her twin brother Michael, were born in April 1944 in an internment camp in Vittel, France. Liberated with their parents Angela and Maurice several months later, the family moved to England in October 1944, settling initially in Northolt and South Ruislip and later moving to Eastcote, after which their brother Peter was born in 1948. Upon leaving school at 16, Mum went to work at a bank in central London and attended secretarial college. When she was 18, drawn to the country of her birth, she moved to France for a year where she worked as an au pair in Argentan (Normandy) and subsequently as a secretary in Paris. During this time she became fluent in French, a language she loved the opportunity to use throughout the rest of her life. Upon returning to London she worked for Skyways Coach Air as a passenger service agent and latterly as secretary to the manager, based at Victoria Station. She liked to travel and holidayed in Tunisia and Brazil amongst other countries during this time. She was a very beautiful lady (our grandmother often told us how her neighbours likened Mum’s looks to Elizabeth Taylor) as well as being very warm and good hearted. She met our Dad (Gerry) in 1967 and some 18 months later they were married at St Luke’s Church, Pinner on 5 October 1968. Initially they lived in police accommodation in Sudbury, before buying a house in Pinner in 1969. My arrival in 1971 and Tanya’s in 1975 brought her much happiness (as she said in her last letter written just 10 weeks before she died '…I can’t tell you how much love and joy you brought into my life and how happy I was to be your Mum, although it was short’). We kept her busy, certainly for the earlier parts of our lives, so apart from hosting an endless stream of foreign students and family members from Belgium, her early role in married life was that of full time Mum, which she later cited as the happiest years of her life. In January 1978 we moved to Chalfont St Giles. Charnwood was a great milestone for Mum and Dad since self improvement was an important value of theirs. They spent the next 10 years upgrading the house and in addition Dad took care of the vast garden. As we grew older and more independent, Mum took on various jobs locally including a sales role at the local builders’ merchant (no doubt after becoming a good customer following the extension at Charnwood) and stand-in lollypop lady at Our Lady’s school in Chesham Bois. Later she became a physiotherapy helper at Amersham General Hospital (where the she was much loved by the patients) and latterly an assistant to the club secretary at Harewood Downs Golf Club. She enjoyed being an active member of the school PTA and the Chesham Bois Catholic Players (amateur dramatics) but above all, family meant everything to her so family reunions, including great walks in the countryside, were always high on the agenda. A month long trip to Los Angeles in August 1983 to visit her brother’s family and first cousins was meticulously planned though sadly it was the only trip she ever made there. In 1987 she bought a holiday home in Betws y Coed, North Wales. A beautiful cottage with marvellous mountainous views, it was Mum’s pride and joy. Sadly she wasn’t to be allowed too many years to enjoy it as, late in July 1989, alone at Amersham Hospital, she was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer and given just 3 months to live. Dad arrived at the hospital that evening after work to discover this life changing news, keeping it to himself for a few days before sharing it with Tanya. He was then tasked with calling me home from a foreign exchange holiday in Fuerteventura, breaking the tragic news to me at 2.00am, following a much delayed flight into Gatwick. Although our world changed overnight, Mum fought bravely to try and keep our lives as normal as possible. In that same last letter, her courageous spirit and selfless ways came through ‘....since my illness, life for you has been traumatic, sometimes unbearable for you and I have had to sit back and watch this all. It hasn’t been easy and I felt I’ve been a great burden but I know I have only lived this long through your support and encouragement’. The truth is she bore the burden of our grief as well as her own grief. In the end, following a year-long battle, Mum passed away at 12.35am on Wednesday 1 August 1990, at St Francis Hospice, Berkhamsted. This coming Sunday will be 20 years since Mum’s passing. Our memories of her wonderful love and spirit have inspired us throughout our lives and continue to do so everyday. Tanya and I are marking the occasion by creating this memorial page and asking you to donate what you can for ovarian cancer research. Tanya and I were just 15 and 18 at the time of her death and at the time it was difficult to think about any fundraising. Samantha and Tanya 27 July 2010 Poem by David Harkins: You can shed tears that she is gone Or you can smile that she has lived You can close your eyes and pray that she will come back Or you can open your eyes and see all that she has left Your heart can be empty because you can’t see her Or you can be full of the love that you shared You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday Or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday You can remember her and only that she has gone Or you can cherish her memory and let it live on You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back Or you can do what she would want: Smile, open your eyes, love and go on.  

September 2021

Thank you for reading the summary above of our dear mother’s life. Also thank you for your kind donations to this very important charity.  We would like to thank Mike Maranian (Mum’s twin brother) for writing Captivated In Vittel and supporting Ovarian Cancer Action by asking his readers for a small donation in memory of his sister. We hope you enjoy reading the book, his sister would have been so proud of him.