After much discussion, a great deal of laughter and more than a few tears, Jan took on the unenviable task of composing the Eulogy for Mum's funeral, which was read aloud by Rev Crossley. I'm sure many of you will also have memories of Mum - please feel free to add them to this tribute. Julie x

Alma was born on June 6th1931 in Anslow, Burton on Trent, youngest child of 7 to Ernest and Mary Newman. She had a happy childhood, with many memories of her parents and siblings. She often recalled the times when she’d wait for her Dad to come home from work at the garden gate with the cat, the cat would promptly jump onto her Dad’s bike seat, and together they would wheel the bike down the garden.
 
The family later moved to Beam Hill Road, and she met Michael at a dance at Anslow Village Hall. Being Alma, once she’d set her sights on him, he wasn’t escaping! Michael and Alma were married at St Johns Church in Horninglow on the 2ndApril 1955, and settled into married life with Julie arriving in 1957, and Janet 1960.
 
Life at Hall Green Avenue in Stretton was good, with Alma working hard on making home a safe, happy place to be, and also working as a ‘Home Help’ as it was known then, with a series of ladies and gents under her ‘wing’. Janet well remembers sitting on the back of her Mum’s bike whilst she rode around Stretton and Rolleston looking after her ‘wards’. Julie’s recollection is slightly different, as being the elder, she was made to walk to the houses and help with the cleaning!
 
Alma was extremely canny, she taught herself to cook – in fact, one of the first things she ever made was Jam Tarts for Michael, even meeting him at lunchtime to present her efforts – she knew they were his favourites, and as has been said before, he never stood a chance!
 
Alma’s stock answer to the eternal question from her girls of ‘Whats for tea’? Would always be ‘Run around the table and see how far it is’, at which point she’d disappear into the kitchen to ‘knock something up’ and reappear with wonderful meals, seemingly from nowhere.
 
As a family, there were always the annual holidays to Great Yarmouth. The first day was always spent visiting the shows to book up for the next fortnight, for which Alma religiously saved her family allowance for the first 6 months of the year to pay for the shows, the second half of the year’s family allowance was saved to pay for Christmas! The holiday always ended with the last night being spent visiting the fair for the ‘girls’- much to Michaels disgust! 
 
Alma was a great one for routines, Sunday evening was shoe cleaning, Monday evening was brass cleaning whilst Michael went to badminton practice, and Saturday morning was baking time for the rest of the week, but the sight of Alma, ironing on a Saturday afternoon, whilst the wrestling was on, and occasionally muttering ‘get him!’ to Mick McManus, was something to behold!!
 
As a young child, Julie recalls sitting at one end of the living room, with her cousin Karl at the other end of the room. Alma would give them a long piece of string and a box of buttons each, and they’d spend the day threading buttons…again Alma was canny, she never told them it was a piece of elastic they were threading!

Julie’s favourite memory of her Mum is after Alma broke her right wrist, and in typical style, refused to let it get in the way. Julie came home from school one day to find her Mum operating a metal chipper, on a tray on the floor, with great enthusiasm, but with her foot!
 
Alma’s selfless love for her family was also evident when, not only did she work extra hours to pay for Julie to go to Switzerland on a school trip in 1971, but she also wrote to her every day, mostly with news of the cat, but still every day.
 
Janet recalls the time she spent sitting on the settee, in Hall Green Avenue, with a cushion on her knee, looking after Mum’s engagement ring whilst Mum cleaned the house from top to bottom….Janet would like to point out that she was about 3 at the time……
 
Janet’s memories are of fun with her Mum, she’d spend ages with a piece of pastry whilst mum baked, the pastry went up the wall, over the floor, but was always baked for Dad to take to work for lunch….it was many years later before mum confessed it never went to work with Dad…. But the one thing she really remembers was, as a teenager, she’d run errands for Mums ladies, far beyond the Staffordshire County Councils expectations, because that was ‘Mum’, full of love, care and concern, and we will all miss her so much.
 
Alma left her ‘Home Help’ job to work at Stretton Post Office, and again, she was well known and loved in the village - she’d have queues of the elderly at her till on pension day, as she gave them time and consideration- putting their pension into a coin bag and making sure the bag was put at the bottom of their shopping bag for safe keeping, and an instruction to go straight home, she always made sure they were safe….
 
As the family grew up, Alma and Michael spent many happy times on holiday and walking trips, be it the Lake District or Derbyshire, and enjoyed their first trip abroad to celebrate their 25thWedding Anniversary in Italy, visiting Rome, Sorrento, Naples and especially Capri on their actual Anniversary. Alma’s only comment was on not being able to get a bacon sandwich; she wasn’t a fan of ‘foreign ‘food! They enjoyed spreading their wings further, including Majorca, Ibiza, Tenerife, Malta and going to Disneyland with GMVC in 1989. Unfortunately Alma never did appreciate ‘foreign food’, and always made sure she’d got her own teabags!!
 
Alma was a great supporter of The British Legion, she used to collect door to door each year, and when the residents saw it was ‘Alma from the Post Office’, they wouldn’t dare refuse! Stanley Barrington once had the honour (his words) of opening and counting his first box to exceed £100, collected by Alma. 

Alma and Michael always attended Dinner Dances from either The Engineering Society or British Legion, and it was on such occasion that Edwina Currie was the guest speaker. During the dances, Alma asked Edwina to join in, “Oh, I don’t dance” was the response, to which Alma said “Yes , you do” and dragged her onto the dance floor…..the irony of which, was to dance to “The Birdie Song” !
 
Sadly Alma began to suffer from dementia, and after a great deal of trying to cope, it was reluctantly agreed to move Alma to Fauld Nursing Home, where she spent nearly 6 happy and restful years. The family would like to thank Fauld Nursing Home for looking after her so well, even in the home she was a firm favourite amongst staff and other residents. Although the illness was challenging, she always had a smile on her face and always made the ladies who took care of her laugh.
 
Alma was someone whose family was incredibly important to her, her children, grandchildren and eventually great grandchildren. She spent many happy hours with her grandchildren, she loved them dearly and spent her energy making sure they were happy and safe, and they too will miss her greatly. But mostly Alma’s life was her husband Michael, whom she loved and cared for, and quite frankly completely spoilt!
 
Thank you Alma, Mum, Nanna and Great Nanna for being such a caring, loving person, we will all miss you x