ANNE COLE

What a lovely, kind, generous and quirky woman Anne was. I first met Anne when I was 14. She became a constant voice of calm and reasoning in my life and helped me navigate my way through A levels, work, marriage, children , ill health and divorce. She always had a room for us to stay and when my father was ill near the end of his life she provided him with shelter and nursed him . I remember her opening bank accounts for the prostitutes in soho (when she was the assistant branch manager ), playing g golf with my father, brother, husband and then my son, building sand castles with my daughter, crabbing at Walberswick and sinking a pint or two at the Nelson pub. She had a huge impact on all who knew her . Rest in peace x

Anne was a very strong minded, high spirited and fun loving lady. She was kind and very generous in so many ways. Having been educated in a convent she went on to have a very successful career with Barclays Bank for 20 plus years. In an era when it wasn’t easy for a woman to succeed in business she rose to assistant manager at a couple of the largest Barclay branches. After her retirement she moved from Seer Green (Bucks) to Reydon. She was great fun to be with and I spent many hours with her either golfing (she was a decent golfer getting down to a 15 handicap) or walking with the rest of my family. For well over 40 years she looked after, cared for and supported my sisters, myself, my wife and all our children. She was known to us all as Auntie Anne and was godmother to our son, Rory. We had so many years of fun and happy memories with her in Southwold.

She had a relationship with my Dad, Dennis Sale, for many, many years. I know she loved him dearly and he her. They remained good friends after their relationship ended. Anne nursed and took great care of my Dad in the many weeks leading up to his death. Her generous spirit was always there. She was a committed Catholic and after my Dad’s death threw herself into supporting her Church. We all loved Anne deeply and it was very painful to see her the last time we saw her earlier this year. There stood a frail and confused lady where once, and for many years, had stood a very strong and able woman. She would pride herself in telling us for years she wasn’t even registered with the local doctors “I’m not going to be ill so why should I register?” With a wry smile in her face. She had such assurance and was an independent soul. She was loved by all our family. It was incredibly hard to see her with dementia, the cruelest of conditions. She will be much missed but very fondly remembered and with much love. Simon, Zara and family.