Strong. Modern & Independent.

Strong. Modern. Independent. Three words that are often painted as the ideal portrait of what a woman needs to be in 2022.

Let me introduce you to somebody who was the very epitome of those three words, until last Friday, when she sadly passed away peacefully in a care home in Hertfordshire, aged 95.

She would have cringed at the word 'modern' and said "what are these silly people talking about"! But after all, she was a lady ahead of her time, by staying true to what she had learned every year since 1926.

Who is this lady? Well, this is my late Great Auntie Rose, or Rosetta Margaret Stokes to give her the fullest of beautiful titles. Born in the same year as the Queen, what a year 1926 was, she had the same sense of duty to her family, albeit from humbler beginnings, being the youngest of 9 siblings, in the working-class town of Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

She always received the hand-me-downs, and she always had to play mother to older siblings, after her mother passed away soon after she was born (my Great Grandmother). She learned to be 'strong' and 'independent' from an early age, a pre-2nd World War age. She later had to care full time for her older brother, my Great Uncle after his return from the war.

She was never married. She never had children. She never stopped caring for her family, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. She supported the local community, worked in the local greengrocers, was a fantastic neighbour, and loved gossip! This was a constant throughout many decades. She enjoyed family, community, and life.

Why I am writing this? Where do I fit - just a great-nephew after all? Well, she was the last surviving member of my late Father's side of the family. She also treated me like a son and grandson, all rolled into one, rather than a great-nephew. She was a director of my business, without even knowing it.

We formed one of those bonds often seen in the monologue to a reality TV show with moving music, the sob story one might say (always wanted to feature in a good sob story)! She was not your typical Aunt - enjoying Daniel O'Donnell, Snooker, and Wrestling on the TV and indulged me when I was around by pretending to enjoy the football!

Quite 'modern' I would say!

We spoke a few times a week & met up as often as we could, right up until she fell ill, in March this year. All this despite the 200-plus miles geography between us. We were friends who enjoyed a pub lunch and a few lager shandies. Never seen some 'wolf' a Fish n Chips like my Great Aunt Rose at 95 - she loved food, she loved life, she loved people.

Don't worry folks there is a business bit! My data protection business protects people and helps people feel part of a trusted community, offers peace of mind, and it empowers people. My Great Aunt not only used to enjoy asking about my business, whilst having little to no idea about personal data protection, or even knowing what a mobile phone or the internet is! I used to enjoy telling her!

What she did know about is supporting people who were "passionate about others", her words, not mine, in case you thought I was using deliberate emotion as part of a sales pitch.

She saw my face light up when I talked about my business. She bought into this. My smile made her smile. It was quite simple, quite yesteryear, there was no technology involved. She admired my strength and my independence. Qualities she had displayed all her life, whilst being 'modern' without knowing it. Not so "silly" after all!

As I write this, and I shed a tear, I admire what a strong, modern, and independent woman my Great Aunt was. Over the coming weeks, we will celebrate a life that has seen so much, there is certainly no shortage of happy content to focus on!

Rest in peace, my dear Aunt Rose. Rest in peace the inspiration behind my business. Rest in peace Rosetta Margaret Stokes.