My Mum was a truly beautiful lady. As a young woman she was a real stunner, I am told, and she certainly always took great care with her appearance. Her hair and her fingernails, in particular, were remarkably beautiful right to the end.

But her real beauty was her inner beauty. She was a peacemaker, practicing ‘do not let the sun go down on you anger’ and ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, always.

She genuinely cared about people, often befriending those who other found too difficult to cope with. She made friends wherever she went, be it a hospital bed or wherever.

She loved socialising. We used to call her our ‘social butterfly’. It was a very sad day for her when she could no longer drive herself and had her wings clipped a bit.

She loved a cup of tea, she liked a sherry and she enjoyed a party.

I remember at my 35th birthday party in the bottom of the Bald Hill open cut, around midnight Dad decided to go home to bed and asked Mum if she was coming.

“It would be the sensible thing to do,” she replied, “but I have never been sensible and I don’t think I’ll start tonight”.

Mum and I had so many adventures together, the greatest being our three weeks in the Middle East, but also our trips to Sydney and visiting places from her family past around Newcastle and Maitland, and annual trips to Air League. Our last adventure was to church in the Bangate Woolshed with Rob Smith in September 2009, which she was utterly determined to do! And we did!

I think that Mum enjoyed her most recent party, celebrating her 90th birthday in December 2009, but she had become very weary. I am honoured to have been your daughter and I thank you Mum for being you.