Pamela Elizabeth was born in March 1935, did well at school, and decided to pursue a career in Hotel Management. She enrolled on a course at Westminster College … a place that would change her life forever. On her first day there, while scraping plates into the pig bin, she met a young Chef student, called Bev Puxley. Within minutes of bumping into Pam, he told a good friend that he’d met the girl he was going to marry… and he did!
Bev & Pam married in April 56, and started out their life together living in a tiny caravan. Judy and Graham were both born there. After proudly purchasing their first house, and in less than a year, Wendy completed the family.
A career change for Bev took them to the Southwest, where they opened a guest house and small holding. Pam was left holding the fort while Bev undertook consultancy work for the Excelsior Hotel in Hong Kong. With help from her teenage family, she managed it very well. Another career move to London brought fresh challenges with another home to refurbish, a new job and Bev’s father moving in with them.
Being brought up during the War and learning to live with rationing made Pam a thrifty individual. She made clothes for the family, darned, repurposed and repaired. She was affectionately known in the family as the ‘Araldite Queen’, and would try fixing anything from a broken saucer to things considered to be ‘priceless heirlooms’. However, they will not be on the Antiques Roadshow, as the brown scars of her repairs are evident even without a magnifying lens!
She always found time to knit. She knitted nearly every jumper, cardigan, woolly hat or scarf that she, Bev and the children wore and later she knitted hats & jumpers for her grandson Chris. Pam was laid to rest in a jumper she had lovingly knitted for Bev, despite the fact that he was intensely irritated by the clattering of her needles, he loved it and wore it often. After Bev died in 2022, Pam took to wearing it and it provided her with comfort in more ways than one.
Pam and Bev were thrilled when they became Grandparents and later Great Grandparents and were fondly known as ‘Granny Pam’ & ‘GG’. Pam was delighted when told the exciting news that Chris and Kelly were expecting a baby in June.
They both spent a lot of time gardening, well… Pam did the digging, planting and pruning while Bev created fancy Rock gardens and water features. When weather permitted they loved entertaining ‘al fresco’ making the most of the lovely spaces they’d created together.
Pam was a huge support to Bev in his roles with the Worshipful Company of Cooks particularly when he became Master Cook, acting as his Consort, PA and keeping him well organised. She was a person with a sharp eye for detail who loved to make lists.
Bev and Pam finally settled in the Village of Swallowcliffe where they enjoyed beautiful views across open farmland and delighted in watching the landscape change with the seasons. Springtime was her favourite. The swathes of snowdrops and daffodils she’d planted at Fox Cottage brought her so much joy.
Pam was a good listener. She listened carefully – more than she talked, a quality that people valued. She’ll be remembered as a loyal and trusted friend, mother and grandmother, and will be sorely missed.
