Olive May Moore (30 Nov 1920 - 23 Feb 2017)

In loving memory of Olive May Moore who sadly passed away on 23rd February 2017

So, Olive May Moore; who was she?
Well, you all knew her; she was a Mother, a Grandmother, a Great Grandmother, a Great Great Grandmother and to some, just a friend.
But Olive was more than that.
Olive was not only a person that was kind, loving, caring, generous, thoughtful and selfless, but someone that was hardworking, funny and sometimes a bit naughty.

Olive lost her mum early on in life; she was just a teenager that today would be studying for her school exams. However, for a 1930’s teenager, things were different.
The responsibility for looking after dad and her brothers & sisters, fell onto Olive’s shoulders, a responsibility that would ultimately bring out her caring and selfless nature.
Like most fifteen year olds at the time, starting work was on the horizon and Olive became a trainee seamstress at a tailor in the Burton high street, a tailor known as the ‘fifty bob tailors’.
Olive was now working and looking after the family, and if that wasn’t enough, she now had to contend with interest from the boy next door.
The boy next door was Mac, and while sitting on the front lawn looking at comics and books, Mac looked at Olive and said ‘shall we get married?’ and she answered ‘if you like’; a reply that would define that funny and naughty nature.
War was looming, but even with the onset of rationing, they still managed to have a good wedding.
Olive turned her seamstress skills into good use and made her own wedding dress, and also the bridesmaids, she even made the sandwiches, cakes and trifles for the big day (no Caterers to help out in those days!)
The war came and Olive’s husband was called up just six weeks after their first child ‘Ann’ was born, Ann would be 4 years old before Mac returned home. This would leave Olive to bring up her first child on her own, whist also helping on a farm with the land army when she could.
After the war, when Mac was de-mobbed, Olive lived with Mac’s parents and they had their second child ‘Donald’. They would stay there until post-war until housing became available.
Housing eventually became available at Winshill and in 1957 they had their third child ‘Haydn’. Olive would live there for the next 50 years and receive a telegram from the queen on their Diamond wedding anniversary.
During the coming years, Olive did have a few jobs along the way and tried to fit them around family life; she cleaned for a lady on the Ashby road, worked in a shop in Winshill and worked at Pirelli, making slippers.
Apparently Mac never knew about one of those jobs (I did say she was a bit naughty!)
Olive was now becoming a full time mum and her family were her life.
This was the time to pursue her love of sewing and knitting.
Olive was not a lover of shorts or trousers, but loved to make her own dresses; in fact, when she did buy a dress, she wouldn’t wear it until she had altered it to the correct length.
Her love of sewing would see her go on to make Bridesmaids dresses for her grandchildren, Sandra and Linda, for Donald & Pam’s wedding.
Olive watched her family grow up with that kind, caring and loving nature that she showed in her younger years and was always ready to listen and give advice when the family needed it.
Of course, bringing up a family can be challenging, but Olive always found the time to play with the children. No computers or electronic toys in those days, just good old fashioned playing and entertaining.
Haydn recalls, as a young child, how a typical day with mum would be:-
Helping mum with the washing (well getting in the way while mum did the washing),
Helping to peg out the washing (well giving mum the clothes back to re-wash after I had dropped it on the lawn),
Helping to bake cakes or jam tarts (yes, you’ve got the idea now, trying to get the mixture into the paper cases is not as easy as you might think),
Being the coalman and delivering the coal (well emptying the cushions out of their covers onto the floor, pretending that was the coal),
Being the grocer and delivering the groceries (well emptying the pantry of all the boxes and packets that I could reach and then trying to sell them to mum for some pretend money),
I can’t remember much after that, but it was probably bedtime.
Mum must have been exhausted looking after me, but she loved me and still kissed me good night, with the knowledge that, in the morning, she had to do it all over again.
Donald recalls the holidays in the trailer tent, in the various caravans & motor homes, the holidays abroad and all the good times they shared along the way. Mum had a good time too, and when she went out, she would have stayed up all night if she could have.
Donald also remembers mum dancing with dad at the Burton working men’s club and the Bass social club at weekends (she really enjoyed dancing with dad, except when he would make up his own steps without telling her!)
Jane, one of her grandchildren, recalls her time with her grandma in the kitchen and how her grandma referred to the kitchen as the ‘back kitchen’ even though the house never had a ‘Front Kitchen’ and therefore Jane used to watch her grandma colour her hair in the ‘back kitchen’ sink.
Jane also remembers the good times on holiday, the picnics they had, her grandma always wearing a headscarf and brooch and her grandma drinking pints at the Bass social club, something not common place in those days for women.
Sarah, also one of her grandchildren, also recalls her time with her Nan in the kitchen and preparing food to be eaten outside while sitting under a parasol in the garden; followed by a bit of playing, colouring books and watering the garden plants together. Nan loved to be in the garden.
Sarah also remembers her trips to Burton town centre with Nan, and getting grandad to bed early so they could eat peanuts and drink lager & lemonade without him knowing and listening to the top 40 on a Sunday, Nan loved her music more than the television.
Ann recalls that there was one thing in particular that was remembered by everyone, and that was mum’s Christmas buffets. Haydn had a real Disco and we would all be singing and dancing to the music until late.
Christmas was a very special time for mum and just like Dad, mum loved to have all the family around at Christmas. Mum must have spent the whole day preparing her Christmas buffet, but did so in the knowledge that seeing her family happy was all that mattered.
That’s what life was all about to mum, her family and seeing us all happy.
The Christmas buffets carried on late into her life, until it all became too much for her.
Mum didn’t want to stop of course, but the family insisted.
Nothing can take away these memories or the knowledge that she loved us all to the very end.
We love you Mum and always will.
God Bless.