Doreen Coxon (1 May 1932 - 5 Apr 2024)

In loving memory of Doreen Coxon who sadly passed away on 5th April 2024.

Doreen was the second of four children, born in Hull in 1932. She is survived by her younger sister. The family moved around a lot as her father worked in electricity generation.

During the war she spent some time in London, during the bombing, remembering windows being blown out by a bomb landing nearby. She was then evacuated to stay with her Aunt Lucy in Bridlington.

After the war the family moved to Leeds, where she started work in the accounts department at the local Electricity Board. Shortly afterwards she met Eddie through their shared passion for ballroom dancing. She even went to the extent of sneaking out of the house on a Sunday with her dance shoes hidden in her sleeves, against her father's wishes.

Doreen and Eddie married in 1954 in Leeds. In 1956 they had a son Kevin, then went globetrotting whilst Eddie did his national service in the RAF. He did five years, allowing them to have two and a half years in Singapore before returning to England. They then settled in Gloucestershire where Fiona was born in 1963.

In 1965 the family went to India for 2 years before returning to Gloucestershire, moving to a small Cotswold village in 1968. The extra space available was soon filled with one of Doreen's passions, goat husbandry. Milk, cheese and yoghurt production followed, together with a few 'Best in Show' awards.

Throughout her life Doreen was a very accomplished seamstress, making dresses, shirts, tablecloths, hankies and everything in between. She also turned her hand to other crafts, creating tapestries, embroideries, crocheting and knitting. The whole family were well supplied with socks, jumpers and cardigans including many school uniform items. She even had a contract with a local shop to knit high-end cardigans for American tourists.

Doreen, Eddie and Fiona moved to Sussex in1980 where her interests grew to include photography, which was Eddie's lifelong passion. Doreen started with slides, moving into digital as it became more popular. After Fiona married and moved away (to America) Doreen and Eddie had more time to travel, to numerous European destinations, with frequent visits to America to see Fiona and the grandsons when they arrived.

Weeks after Eddie's retirement Doreen had a brain haemorrhage, which slowed her down for a while but they were soon back travelling, including a visit to New Zealand for seven weeks touring in a campervan.

In 2003 Doreen and Eddie moved to Nottingham to be closer to family, allowing them to see their granddaughters grow up. They continued to visit America regularly until health insurance became prohibitively expensive, although they continued to travel in Europe.

In the last few years Doreen's health declined gradually, having a couple of strokes and a number of falls.

Doreen passed away peacefully at home holding Eddie's hand.