Lorraine Edith May WILSON's memory board

Memories of my darling mother Lorraine. Mum was born in Johnson Street Annandale to parents Marlean and Harry Wilson. They lived in Carey St Leichhardt along with Aunty Doris and her daughter Zena. Mum would often recall with fondness at how wonderful her childhood was. Mum would often remark that they might not have had many material possessions, but they had lots of love! Although extremely shy as a little girl, Mum was somewhat mischievous. She was fascinated by watching her father work on odd jobs in the shed. One day after watching her father use tin snips on some fencing, she decided to do her own re-decorating by snipping all the tops of her mother’s pots and pans making a fan pattern. Undeterred by smacks, Mum went on to not only paint herself from head to toe with white paint; she also dabbled in a little hairdressing. Having snavelled the scissors one afternoon while Nan was busy with her SP Bookie duties, she cut her gorgeous curly hair to the hairline at the front of her face. She later recalled it was the only time in her life her dad had ever given her a smack! Mum attended the local school where she met her dear lifelong friend Pam Carr in kindergarten. Mum had wanted to learn gymnastics, but my Nan had other ideas. So for a short time Mum learned piano and tennis instead. She hated piano with a passion, yet didn’t mind tennis. As she became a teenager she loved Rock and roll dancing (in high heels of course) and clothes. She got all “dolled up” as she called it and went dancing at Surreyville, the Albert Palais and the Police Boys Club (where she first met Alfie) to name a few. Mum loved Jerry Lee Lewis and of course Johnny O’Keefe. James Dean was also a favourite of hers. Mum worked in various jobs until she stumbled into bar work. The six o’clock swill was alive and well and there was money to be made if you could pull a decent beer. She worked at the Bald Faced Stag hotel on Parramatta Road in Leichhardt where she had an absolute ball and clearly overcame her shyness. When I was in primary school, Mum resumed working as a bar maid. It was at this time that she also discovered another passion after becoming a member of the local VIEW Club. She held various committee positions over the years and went on to become the Club President and Delegate. A few years later Mum became a Zone Councillor, a position which she truly loved. She valued the lasting friendships she made via VIEW Club. It has been a great comfort to hear from several VIEW Club ladies recently and listen to their favourite stories about Mum. The one that resonated with me the most was a story the National Councillor, Toni Thomas recalled. Apparently Toni was having second thoughts about being a Zone Councillor some years ago and was quite anxious. Mum had driven over to see her at Faulconbridge and offer some encouragement and friendship. Toni went on to say that she wasn’t sure she could cope with the role. Apparently Mum looked Toni straight in the eye and said the secret to this role is simple: Follow my Mantra Toni - TAKE NO SHIT and you will be fine. I laughed hard as “Mum’s mantra” was drummed into me from an early age! By the way in case you were wondering, Toni followed Mum’s advice and thrived in her new role! Speaking of drums, by the time I had become a teenager I wanted to learn to play the drums and constantly nagged mum to no avail. My mum’s solution to this was to send me to finishing school and try to make me a “lady”. We would both later laugh long and hard about how she had wasted thousands of dollars on tuition fees as I still to this day love the drums! Going to the “pictures” was always a laugh with Mum, especially if you were seeing a “thriller”. I particularly remember the three of us going to see “Earthquake” in the early 70’s. Mum would temporarily forget where she was you see and would shout out specific instructions to the actors, which always made the rest of the theatre goers laugh. Especially when she got really excited and yelled OOOH AH, OOOH AH constantly! I slid down the seat with a mixture of giggles and embarrassment when she got really upset and yelled at the screen the “oh no Lynne look the bloody quake has killed the Bonanza Man” referring to the actor Lorne Greene – it was hilarious and I’m sure the beginning of my bladder woes! When Mum became a “Good looking Nanny” she would often tell her grandchildren stories around the dinner table. Over the years these stories took on a life all of their own and were the source of much enjoyment and friendly teasing as they were retold. The dinosaur and coin operated car stories were legendary and among our favourites! Nanny really could tell a great story… There are so many things that I could tell you about my wonderful Mum. One of the greatest things she taught me was to value, treasure and appreciate true friendship. She was a kind and generous soul who genuinely cared about people. She gave her time freely to others and expected nothing in return. She loved to laugh and spend time with family and friends, yet she was also a very private individual who liked her own space. Mum would often go out of her way to help others, especially driving the VIEW Club ladies to and from meetings without a second thought. Mum was the only person I knew who could go into a room and start up a conversation with a total stranger and leave having acquired a new best friend. She could tell by just looking at you, how you were really feeling and did her best to help you feel better. She was a loyal and faithful friend who was loved and admired by so many. I could go on but I guess that would just be preaching to the choir considering you have all taken the time out of your day to come here and pay your respects to my cherished Mum. I consider myself to be very lucky that I had Lorraine as my mum, as it meant that every day of my life I knew I was loved and wanted. As I move on now without her, I am reassured in knowing that I will carry her memory with me for the rest of my days. The love between a Mother and a Daughter is forever. On behalf of Alf and our extended family, thank you all for your expressions of sympathy and support as we grieve the loss of our beautiful Lorraine. A Soul mate, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and dear friend loved by all. She may be gone but she will never be forgotten…