Patricia Tunnicliffe (2 Mar 1940 - 24 Jun 2014)

Pat was my dear pen pal for 17 years. She was a faithful writer, and I delighted in receiving her newsy letters full of her rich life. Although we never met in person, I know her as a person who loved her family dearly. Her letters were filled with her activities, Roger's expert gardening, and the lives of her family and friends. I feel so fortunate to have been her friend. My sympathies go out to her loved ones as you go through this difficult time of loss and sadness. Remember her wonderful smile!

Pat was born to Edgar and Madge Bentley in 1940 in Aylestone, Leicester. She first attended Aylestone Road primary school where she took her 11 plus examination (as it was known then) and passed to go a grammar school and was accepted at the Newarke Girls High School. Pat was a keen singer and played hockey. She has 2 younger brothers Nigel and Tony.
Pat trained to be a nursery nurse on leaving school and went to work as a house mother to children with disabilities at Craven Lodge in Melton Mowbray. It was while working here she met her husband Roger on a blind date. She must have liked what she saw as she sat in the corner of a hay field waiting for him to finish work! They married in Aylestone in 1961 and had been married for over 52 years.
After getting married she stopped working to bring up 3 children; Jenny, Stu and Will. Once all were at school she returned to work as one of the original staff team members of the Menphys centre, a nursery for children under 5 who had physical and mental disabilities.
Pat and Roger made many friends through their visits abroad to places such as Dubrovnik, Mostar, Slovenia and Denmark. Although she was not a big fan of flying she thoroughly enjoyed seeing what life was like in other parts of the world.
Pat was an avid reader and loved listening to music especially as she went to sleep which wasn’t always popular with Roger! She also cross stitched and made cards for special occasions. She loved gardening and always had a variety of plants and flowers around, in and outside of the house.
In her later years Pat had a stroke which affected her mobility but this did not stop her from doing the things she loved including writing to her many penfriends around the world, as well as in this country. She was very much a people person and enjoyed talking to people from all walks of life with varying interests.
She will be sadly missed by all of her family including her 3 grandchildren who she took a great interest in. She loved seeing them and hearing about what was going on in their lives.