My Mother was born in Stockton, to John and Hilda Schofield.She had a large family, Joe(who died in a bike accident when my mum was 14 and he was 21),Then there was Dennis, Pauline, my mum, then Kathleen, Terry and finally Lol. There was never enough money in those days and she left school at 14, she worked on farms, she was a tomboy at heart!! She later joined the RAF and says they were the best days of her life, especially when she was posted to Germany. She met my Father she said, when he bought her a drink while they were stood near a piano.My dad was the love of her life and even though they divorced in 1986..she never stopped loving him. She went onto have me and my brothers and sister..Patrick, then me..then my brother John and my only sister Jan....she also helped raise my 2 step-brothers, Gerry who is now in a Australia and Mick in Wales. When i was 14 she took in Dicky..a family friend who we all called brother and she called him her son...thats the sort of person she was. She was never one to say.."i love you"...but we all knew we were loved. She always worked, from cleaning other peoples houses, to escorting handicapped kids to and from school.She set up a charity called "Battered Babies"...this was long before Childline came on the scene.We remember her bringing kids home to stay a weekend or a week....til they could be fostered out. Later in her life she went on to become a warden of an old folks home, a job she adored. As we kids grew and we had kids of our own, she became Nana Cats to them as she lived for her cats. We used to say they were better looked after than we ever were....she used to laugh and agree with us...cat mad!! We lost my dad in 2002..she never said anything but we know it broke her heart. As she got older we couldnt understand how she kept going as she grew weaker, and she moved to be near me and in the beloved Norton that she loved. She lost weight and couldnt eat properly and she weighed only 5 stone...our lovely gorgeous mother was dying before our eyes. She fell out of bed in March of this year and broke her femur...we knew then it was only a matter of time. She moved into a nursing home where my sister Jan and I would try and make her as comfortable as we could....oh how she complained cos she couldnt go for a cigarette when ever she wanted...she said it was her only pleasure she had left in life. She suffered so badly from emphasyma but who were we to deny her wish??...So we took her outside in her wheel chair while she smoked her rollies...she loved the fresh air and the wind blowing..but she was fading fast. My sister Jan took the phonecall at 2-45am on 10/08/2008 that shed died peacefully in her sleep. We were devastated but relieved at the same time that she had gone without anymore pain. And now....as write this...my heart is breaking as I wait for Tuesday and we can finally put her to rest. She wanted cremating and her ashes sprinking on Redcar beach.....she loved the sea...she loved Redcar...so many good memories she said. This was my mother...my friend...my life.