My mother, Maureen Cummings, who has died aged 83, left school with few qualifications and a rebellious reputation. She went on to become a midwife, health visitor, a graduate of the Open University and a palliative care nurse.
Maureen was born in Birmingham, to Blanche (nee Hickman), a nurse, and Stanley Tranter, cashier at the Austin Motor Company. After leaving Kings Norton grammar school, Maureen trained to be a nurse at Worcester Royal infirmary. In 1966 she married Geoff Cummings and they started a family. She soon went back to work as a health visitor.
In 1981, Geoff, a probation officer, died suddenly of a brain tumour, leaving Maureen with three children to bring up. I was 12 and my twin sisters, Rachael and Rebecca, were seven.
Just as we children were leaving home, Maureen embarked on a new career challenge. Appalled by the lack of compassion from medical staff after my father’s diagnosis, she decided to train as a Macmillan nurse, dedicating herself to end of life care. She moved from Birmingham to the Lake District, and commuted from there to her new post at St John’s hospice in Lancaster. She brought solace to so many.
