Kathleen was born at Tenements Farm, Tower Hill, the elder daughter of Thomas and Thirza French. From age five to fourteen she attended Chipperfield School, walking the three quarters of a mile four times a day – she came home for dinner as no meals were provided. She worked in service at Braziers and then at The Tile House. Kathleen met her future husband, Wilfrid, from Pembrokeshire when he visited his aunt, the cook,at The Tile House. They were married in St Paul’s Church on 20 July 1940. Wilfred spent the next five years serving in the RAF and was away for long periods in North Africa and Italy. Kathleen lived with her parents and during this period her first three children, David, Jennifer and Michael, were born. Because of severe overcrowding the family were allocated the first post-war council house to be built in Chipperfield. In November 1947 No.2 Nunfield became the family home and Kathleen remained there until the end of her life. Her fourth child, Nicholas, was born there just eight years before Wilfred died in 1968. Her only daughter, Jennifer, died seven years ago which was another great sadness.
Kathleen was always a gentle, quiet person who enjoyed being a housewife and mother. She enjoyed visiting her family and often welcomed them to her home. She had good health for most of her life and so it was a shock for advanced cancer to be diagnosed last December and then to see her life ebb away so quickly. Kathleen was able to remain at home until the end of her life, thanks to the care of her son, David, with the support of care agency staff, the Hospice of St Francis and the kind and professional care of the Disrict Nursing Team.
The funeral at St Paul’s Church on 9 February, led by Rev’d Miriam Mugan, was a fitting tribute to a much loved mother, grandmother and great grandmother.