Obituaries
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Mary Sparkes (Newman, 1944-58)
From her sister. Anne Witton.
Mary Newman was born in the City of London on 11th April 1940 and she was always very proud to be a cockney. Her parents moved to Colchester when she was a small baby and her father, an optician, became manager of Clement Clarke in Crouch Street. The family lived in a flat above the shop and although it was a good central place to live, it was not good for a child who longed for a pet dog. Her sister, Anne, was born in 1944, the year Mary started at CCHS - one of the last to start before she was 11.
Far left: July 1956 L-R Barbara Hunt, ?, Mary Newman.
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Left: July 1957 Upper VI North Hill
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Below right: Upper III 1950-51
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Below left: 1951 Rounders Team Upper 3rd
Is anyone able to help with names?
Mary was studious and stayed at the High School until she had taken her ‘A’ levels in science subjects. Her father’s parents could not afford for him to train in medicine but he persuaded Mary to become a doctor and she was accepted at the London Hospital. By now she was friendly with Keith, her future husband, and after a year’s study she decided she didn’t want another five years of training and found a job in the laboratory at Courage and Barclays brewery on the Embankment.
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Keith’s father’s hobby was making puppets and putting on shows. Mary and Keith decided to earn a living putting on puppet shows at Butlins so they travelled to different Holiday Camps spending about 3 days in each. Keith then decided to build animation puppet shows and with Mary’s help started a business. They married in 1966 and moved to Colchester so at last Mary could have pet dogs. Their business grew and they designed and made many shop window Christmas displays including Selfridges in Oxford Street. They then moved to designing and making fairground rides, one of the first being the Ghost Train on Clacton Pier, followed by work at Alton Towers, Blackpool and other theme parks.
By now they had moved to East Mersea and Keith could indulge his love of horses and Mary her pet dogs. However by 1990 their marriage was failing and they divorced in 1993. Mary then bought a house in West Mersea and earned a living book keeping until she was 65. She made many friends at Church, Mersea Island Museum and Mersea Island Trust, later becoming Chairman.
Despite ill health Mary seemed happy until the first lockdown in March 2020. Then she missed getting out
to meet friends and in April that year when she turned 80 she had to retire as Chairman of the Trust. Although family and friends phoned regularly she began to neglect her health and in November she fell ill. She went to stay with her sister, Anne, but was taken into hospital suffering from serious diabetes. She went to a Care Home nearby but her friends and Anne, with all the Lockdown regulations, could only phone, not visit. Mary went into hospital again where she died from pancreatic cancer on 19th June 2021.
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