Dorothy 'Dot' Spray (20 Dec 1920 - 15 Jan 2020)

Dot was born on 20 December 1920, the 8th and last child of Fanny Albertha and John Willy Dench. An afterthought to a large and happy family when her Dad returned from the trenches of World War One.
Dot left School at the age of 14 and worked as an embroider a large hosiery firm on Hayden Road.
She loved to attend events at the local motor and motorcycle clubs with her brother, Ernie. It was at one of these gatherings that she met Jack Spray.
Dot and Jack were married in 1941. They moved into a new house on one of the expanding suburbs of Nottingham. Two weeks later they decided they were missing the hustle and bustle of family life, and moved back to live with Dot’s mum and dad on Glasshouse Street in the centre of town; where the family gathered, especially on Saturday teatime after shopping in the old Central Market.
The extended family lived here very happily until the Rent Act of 1947 allowed the landlord to increase rents and therefore Dot’s dad could no longer afford the rent.
Dot and Jack had a new house build on Robinswood Road in Aspley, and mum and dad came to live there with them. Sadly, mum and dad died fairly shortly after the move, but Dot and Jack stayed there for many happy years.
Dot was an excellent ballroom dancer and loved to dress up for a party. Everyone said she looked like the Queen Mother on these occasions. She also had a naughty sense of humour, which stayed with her all her life.
Never blessed with children of her own, Dot delighted in her many nieces and nephews, and their children in turn. She spent many happy hours helping them with painting, drawing or playing card games. The cake tin was always full of everyone’s favourite goodies when visits to or by Dot took place. She could also be relied upon to provide a hand knitted cardigan or a jar of home-made lemon curd.
Sadly, Jack passed away suddenly in September 1977. Dot had always been a nervous person but surprised everyone, including herself, by taking driving lessons and passing her test on the first attempt. While she never went far in her new Allegro, this new skill gave her a great deal of freedom and a new sense of confidence.
In the early 1980s Dot moved into a retirement bungalow on Bridge Green at Strelley where she made many new friends and lived until 2012.
Following an illness needing an extended stay in the City Hospital Dot was no longer able to stand or walk unaided. I was sadly necessary for her to move into a care home. She spent the last seven and half years of her life in Acer Court, not a happy way to end her life.
Family and friends visited regularly while she was there and will all miss her very much.