Lynda Anne Rattenbury (30 Jan 1949 - 10 Sep 2016)

In loving memory of Lynda Anne Rattenbury who sadly passed away on 10th September 2016. The family kindly request no flowers but encourage donations to her favourite charity, the air ambulance, through the 'just giving' link.

Lyn was born on 30th January 1949 in Polesworth waterworks where her grandfather was the Superintendent. She had an older brother and would eventually be joined by 2 younger sisters, all of whom survive her. Her father, who also survives her, was an automotive engineer and they moved between houses in Polesworth, Nuneaton and several areas in Coventry. At one new house she was told the local children may not be as friendly and she responded “Well I’m going out now and I’m going to make them play with me anyway”. This cheerful determination was a recurring theme throughout her life.

She went to Coundon Court High School and subsequently to Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University), where she studied reprographic art. This enabled her to begin work at Massey-Ferguson Tractors in the Reprographic Department in 1965. She also worked part time in The Unicorn in Eastern Green and this is where, in 1967, she met her future husband, John Rattenbury. He had moved from Wales to serve an apprenticeship at Daimler Motor Company and had remained in Coventry to work. They married in 1969 in St Andrew’s Church in Eastern Green on 20th February.

With marriage came a move to Rugby and a new job in Multi Broadcast accounts department, where she worked until leaving in 1971 to start a family. Her only child, Clive, was born in Walsgrave Hospital in 1972. Although he arrived a month premature, he was sizeable enough that Lyn told everyone she expected him to arrive already wearing his first school’s cap! When he actually began school, Lyn returned to work.

Having told John she was applying for a part time role, she returned to inform him she had been offered a full time job at Orenstein & Koppel (O&K). She worked at O&K near Watford village for over a decade and oversaw the introduction of their first computer controlled stock systems. This included trips to Germany, and eventually she ended up running the O&K Computer Department in the UK. She made close friends during her time, including many amongst the German management team and always looked back with great fondness to her time there. During this time she had heard much about the German Christmas markets but had never been visiting when they were on. It gave her great joy years later when she was able to visit her son whilst he was working in Germany and visit the Dulmen and Munster “Weihnachtmarkts”.

Lyn had become a member of the Ramblers Association and gained immense enjoyment walking in the local area and the Peak District. Her favourite place to walk with her family was Dartmoor. This continued even when she became less mobile in later years and she would often drive to familiar landmarks and drop off John and Clive and then link up with them throughout the day as they hiked and she drove the long way around, often via every antique or ornament shop en route! At home in Rugby, Lyn and John enjoyed a social lifestyle with many friends, often winning fancy dress competitions at St Andrew’s RFC. They also hosted a Christmas Eve party for many years which was always popular and often joyfully raucous.

In 1989, having successfully introduced a new IBM system at O&K, Lyn was recruited by the installing IT consultants in Leamington Spa to work as a Support Consultant. This job came with her first company car, so the infamous white Beetle became a memory and a smart new Volvo appeared. This was short lived, however, as she was recruited within a year to head a Software Support Team at another firm in Crick and from there she was recruited to work in London. Whilst this new and challenging job brought satisfaction from a work perspective, the commuting and longer days also brought some of her health problems to a head and she eventually retired on health grounds.

Although struggling in certain areas, Lyn continued to display her cheerful determination. Always taking time with her appearance, she frequently did not feel as well as she looked, often joking that even at her funeral people would look in her coffin and tell her how well she looked today. Her determination to continue to live life to the full led to holidays further afield. These travels, including Egypt, Fuerteventura and others, not only bought her great joy but also some great new friends. These in turn opened out greater travel within the UK and holidays to Scotland became a firm and enjoyable fixture in her year.

As her health and mobility declined, she would still attend formal and family functions and parties. Although she would eventually remain reasonably fixed after arriving and settling down, her funny and lively personality ensured her table would be visited by a constant flow of friends and family. In her last year Lyn enjoyed a flurry of family weddings, including her son’s, and also returned to St Andrew’s RFC with some friends for their Ladies’ Night.

Lyn was admitted to University Hospital with a suspected infection and after a week, although she had responded well to treatment and was hoping to return home the next day, she had a heart attack and did not recover consciousness. She passed peacefully whilst surrounded by her family on the afternoon of Saturday 10th September.