Lesley Tarrant

Mum sadly passed away in June 2009 when the leukemia came back and took her from us. She was diagnosed with luekemia in July 2008, she had 3 lots of kemo and a bone marrow transplant, things where looking on the up until it came back with avengence and took her away.

Mum was known by many people, she would always stop and talk and would do anything to help anyone if she could, she was a true friend. She will be missed by many!!!

Mum will never be able to be replaced and has left a massive hole in our hearts!!! thanks to the love and support of everyone things have been made easier but life will never be the same with out her!!!

Miss you loads and loads mum!!! cant believe you had to leave us!!! I hope your having a good catch up with everyone up there and don't forget us down here!!!

Love you loads and loads XxX


Dad's funeral speech

LESLEY ANN TARRANT, The lady I love.

Lesley was born in Croydon, on the 14th of October 1955. In her first few years she lived in Westbourne Road and then moved to Gloucester Road. Where, when she was 8 years old, her brother Kevin was born. She became great friends with Teresa, who lived across the road, who had an Auntie Doris and an Uncle Bert, who Lesley later on when we got married realised that they were also my aunt and uncle.

Lesley joined the Brownies and Guides; I am not sure which group though or how well she did, but if like normal she would have done really well.

Lesley went to Sydenham Road Junior School; Pam also went there around the same period. Lesley moved on to Davison Road Senior School, where mine and her paths crossed for the 1st time. When I was in the fifth year and a head perfect, at lunch times I often found Lesley and some of her friends in the music room. I would tell them to leave, but Lesley would say, they had permission to be there, from the music teacher. As they were practicing singing for the group that she and they others were in, they went and sang at old peoples homes. The only times I could get one over on her was at the end of the day and she would try to ride across the playground and I would tell her to get off and walk.

I left school and joined BT and then Lesley went to Heath Clark School for her A Levels. We first went out together during this period. I was only allowed around on Wed nights and we were only allowed out either Friday or Saturday nights, as she was studying for her A Levels. My friend John said at the time, that she was the one for me. We split up and went our own ways.

Lesley joined the Red Cross with her friend Sheila and they attended many events, as first aiders

Lesley trained for child care at Bracknell College, where she met her very close friend Chris. They would go out shopping at lunch time and use Chris’s motor bike helmet as a shopping bag. To start with Lesley worked at Dr Barnados and then moved on to The Wokingham Railway Children’s home, where she was a house mother. Then later on at Staines, as the assistant head of home.

Whilst at Wokingham she started to learn to drive and after a few tests she finally passed. As she was not familiar with the roads then, but was with buses, she would often be seen following buses and have to stop as they did, to get any where. Her car became invaluable when she was at Staines, as she often had calls, to collect some of the children, either from school or even sometimes late at night from the police station. Where she would have to talk the children out of what ever trouble they had got into.

It was whilst she was at Staines we got back together. In 1982 we got married, prior to this we attended our pre marriage course at Christchurch (and Mary Madeleine) where we met Ian and Kim. Ian became our dentist and Ian and Kim Boys went to St John and then Edenham School, the same as our girls did. Ian as our dentist found a lump in Lesley’s mouth, this turned out to be cancerous, this was removed and after three operations, life carried on again.

Just before we got married Lesley moved back to Croydon and became a Home Help for Croydon Council. On one of her visits to one of her old ladies, the lady said, she had something for us. This turned out to be some advice, ‘you will never get rich by spending money’. Anyone who has ever been to our house will know we will never be rich, as we do not have junk in our house; we just have too many interests.

Nikki was born in 1984, this was when Lesley met Jane and they became great friends and both became part of MAMA, Meet a Mum Ass. Lesley changed jobs again and then worked for the Croydon Voluntary Association for the Blind, whilst here she thought about training for and becoming a TO. A TO would go around to access what would be required for people who had gone blind or were going blind in their houses, etc. This was not to be, Lesley then became a Childminder and then shortly after Gilly was born in 1987.

Lesley would often be seen around Shirley with the children around her, going to the Co-op (her second home), going to or from St John’s School or standing waiting by the tree at St John’s. Where she would talk to other mum’s and also she made many friends there over the years. Once Clair went to introduce her mother in law and it was hello Lesley, hello Peggy how are you. Clair’s mother in Law was Lesley’s mum friend. Who does Lesley not know??

As I have said, both Nikki and Gilly went to St John’s and then Edenham Schools. They both went on to go to the Brit School and then Uni, Nikki at Buckingham Chiltern and Gilly to Derby. Lesley was always there for them, she nurtured and guided them and at least saw both of them graduate.

We became part of the Christchurch church family and have been ever since. We became involved in many things there over the years. Holiday clubs, Panto’s, various shows and going away to Spring Harvest with other families from Christchurch. Unfortunately Lesley could not go this year due to being in the Royal Marsden again. Lesley became a Guider for the 4th Addiscombe guides, to assist Daphne and then later she became the leader of the group.

Our early Holidays were camping, but then Lesley said she was prefer to have a rigid sided tent i.e. a caravan and this is what we did for most of our other family holidays. We had two main camp sites, the rabbit farm (Marlie farm, New Romney) and the Cow farm (East Fleet Farm, Weymouth), we then went to Pentewan Sands in Cornwall and this is where we did most of our main caravan holidays, from then on.

Lesley had many interests, cross Stitch, card making and Scrape booking to name but a few. She would go out for evenings or even weekends away with her friends and make new ones every time.

She loved cats and we had many over the years, the problems here was Lesley’s maths. If one died she would want two or three to replace that one. To the point where we had seven cats at one time.

Lesley was a ‘Diamond’ she sparkled, she must have sparkled for you too, by the amount of people here today. As a diamond she had many facets and she could still surprise me. On our last two holidays we went to Greece and went on various trips. Olympia, the Corinth Canal and other Greek historic sites. Lesley and our guide Ilious would talk and discuss Greek history on a far higher level than most people, including me, no surprise there.

Lesley would help anyone, she was once called ‘the wise woman of the village’ by one of her parents. If you wanted to know about cooking or making some thing, she would normally tell you and if not she would find out how too.

Both Lesley and I helped ROAF by boxing up, storing and then sending clothes, etc, to Romania. This all started with Lesley going to the Centre of Hope run by GLIA in Dorohoi in Romania, with her friend Chris (this was to celebrate her 50th birthday).

Lesley fell ill again last year, after being tied for some time, this was diagnosed as Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, in July at Mayday Hospital. She suffered with the side effects of two lots of Chemo, before coming out of hospital in October and was then lucky enough to be able to go to James and Elaine’s wedding, which she so much wanted to go to attend. She then went into the Royal Marsden for another Chemo and then her bone marrow transplant. She came out just in time for Christmas.

Lesley returned to Marsden for weekly out patients, but at the beginning of April she was readmitted, yet again another long seven weeks. It was at the end of this she was given weeks or months to live, this was only to be just weeks. This was when St Christopher Hospice helped us.

People, family and especially children and cats were important to her. She will now be catching up with family, friends and our past pets, who have gone before. So as I have said, Lesley was a diamond, she has now become ‘a Diamond in the Sky’.

So now I will close, Goodbye Lesley, Love of my life, safe journey and I will see you again some day.