Ann died last night!
We haven't really talked about Ann which makes me feel pretty crappy - because there was a time when we were like brother and sister. That was a long time ago but it's the sort of thing which resurfaces.
Ann Lanfear was my mother's half sister. Grandmother Winifride Prior divorced Wilf Lewis during the war and moved from London to Ardington, to live with her father, and my great grandfather, Wilfred Stevens Prior.
Not sure when (?) she married Horace Lanfear, an ex marine who'd been besieged on Malta for most of the war. Babs Lewis and Syd Reeves were married in 1948. Winifride and Horace married around the same time. Ann was born in the summer of 1949. Nine months later I came along.
The two new mothers spend a great deal of time together while Ann and I were infants, and so we grew up together- like brother and sister, although we didn't live under the same roof. We did spend most of our time In Ardington, a heavenly place for kids to grow up, because we could go anywhere.
My mother's side of the family found lots of reasons to fall out, spending months not talking to each other. Every fall out was followed by a reconciliation, followed by another fall out. Ann and I were driven apart by the fall outs. We both moved away as soon as we could and didn't have any contact, other than at weddings.
We both were focused on building our own lives, away from the rows and reconciliations and didn't have whatever it took to rebuild what we had as kids. I regret that. Sorry Ann.
As far as I know Ann never smoked, or drank more than a sherry at Christmas. She was a teacher, and I'm sure a good one, if maybe a little prissy. Ann should have lived to her nineties.
But she didn't. Several strokes in her mid 40s presaged what was to come. A couple of weeks ago Ann suffered a major stroke, and never recovered proper consciousness. Last night at 5 minutes to midnight Ann passed on. She was 60.
Rest in Peace Ann. I'm sorry for letting what we had as kids go.
Timmy
