A family is remembering a kind, hard-working and proudly independent 103-year-old who lived to see even her great grandchildren become parents.
Maud Cattermole was Suffolk through and through, having been born in Stowupland Street in Stowmarket on August 31, 1919 – less than one year after the First World War had ended.
“Mum always cared about other people more than herself,” said Maud’s daughter, Joy Norman.
Maud worked hard all her life, and was never one to sit at home, even in her later years.
“My brother, Michael, used to take her out shopping every Thursday until she was 100,” said Joy. “She lived on her own until she was 102.”
Maud was the elder of two daughters born to Mabel Wells and her first husband, John Wells.
Maud’s father died when she was only around seven years old. Mabel remarried, and went on to have another daughter, Merle. Tragically, Mabel’s second husband also died young, and she would go onto marry a third time.
Maud attended school in Stowmarket, before leaving at the age of 14. She first found work at the old iron foundry, where Marriott Motor Group now has garages.
The foundry was particularly known for its lawnmowers, and Maud worked on the production line.
However, it was hot, heavy, work and Maud didn't like it. She only stayed here a short time.
For her next job, she went into service, and found a position working for a family who lived in a farmhouse.
The days were long, but Maud was much happier here. Her duties included cooking, cleaning shoes and blackening the traditional wood-burning stoves.
It was around this time that Maud met the man who was to become her husband, David Cattermole.
How the couple actually met is a mystery, explained Joy. They may have met on the farm, for David was a stockman, making his living caring for livestock.
The couple tied the knot in 1942, and their first child, Michael, arrived the following year.
Maud continued living at the farm with Michael, where the lady of the house made a great fuss of him, until a cottage was found for she and David just over the road. Joy arrived in 1948, completing the family of four.
Over the next few years, the family moved frequently, following David’s work.
They moved first to Shelland Green, near Onehouse, then to a village near Needham Market, and then to Rushbrooke. From there, they moved to Pettaugh, near Stonham Aspel, then to Stoke Ashe, and finally to Thornham Magna.
“Mum said she wasn’t going to move anymore!” said Joy.
During this time, Maud had kept herself busy, taking cleaning jobs and working for a time in the White Horse in Stoke Ashe.
“Mum was contented with the simple life,” said Joy. “She never had anything unless she could afford to buy it.
“Right up until, this past year, she would always say, ‘I’ve never owed anybody any money.’”
Maud was also a lover of nature and was very fond of wild birds and the flowers that grew in her garden.
When Gary, the eldest of Joy’s three sons was born, Maud was thrilled to become a grandmother.
Luckily for her, she would become a grandmother four times over, then a great-grandmother, and then a great-great-grandmother.
When she turned 100 in 2019, Maud was delighted with her telegram from the late Queen. She celebrated in style, with a pub lunch with all her family.
Maud Mary Cattermole died on February 12, aged 103.
She is survived by her children, Joy and Michael, her grandchildren, Gary, Julian, Greg and Hayley, her great-grandchildren, Loki, Chloe, Bethany, Matthew, Peggy-May, Alfie and Harvey, and her great-great-grandchildren, Tyler, Albie and Evelyn-May.
Earlier this month, tributes were paid to a popular Stowmarket lollipop lady, Angela Smith.
If you would like to have a tribute written to your loved one, email: abygail.fossett@newsquest.co.uk
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