Having raised tens of thousands of pounds for good causes over recent years, Tanya Dixon, of The Coach House Laundrette, Penrith, remains determined to continue with her charitable work following the untimely death of her mother, Janet Noble, earlier this year.
Tanya raised around £1,000 for Hospice at Home last year and around £3,000 this year, and the knowledge that her mother supported this charity has only intensified her desire to raise more money.
Much of her fundraising is currently achieved through the sale of items including clothes, books and furniture donated by members of the public.
Tanya’s fundraising efforts have been supported by Lisa Donnison who is donating 10 per cent of the money she earns through the sale of her Christmas wreaths to two charities; Hospice at Home and the Great North Air Ambulance. The latter a nod to Janet’s love of helicopters.
Janet, of Penrith, known to many as Janet Martin (maiden name Clark) was born in Maryport in 1948 to Kathleen and Andrew Clark.
One of seven children (Katie, Robert, Wilhelmina, Tricia, Margaret and Mary) she attended Our Lady and St Patrick’s Primary School and St Joseph’s Secondary School. She was a keen scholar demonstrating a natural flare for learning.
Never afraid of hard work Janet had various jobs in her youth. Starting her working life at Miller’s Shoe factory in Cockermouth and later working as a barmaid and a waitress, the young Janet always reserved a healthy portion of her earnings to fund her love of clothes and fashion.
As a teenager she lived for a time in London, working as a nanny. She was ideally equipped for the role, given her nurturing and conscientious nature.
Commitment to her family, however, led her to return to Maryport, as requested by her mother.
Janet moved to Penrith in 1970. She went on to have three children; Neasha, Tanya and Kevin, later becoming a grandmother (Nana) to Ashleigh, Ella, Alfie, Anna and Mae.
Ideally suited to motherhood, Janet loved spending time with not only her own children, but with children in general. She was creative, deriving great pleasure from making things, whether it be clothes for the children, cuddly toys or curtains.
Her creative nature was illustrated in the stories that she would make up to tell her nieces and nephews as a young woman, and also in the games that she would create to play with her children and later her grandchildren, all of whom she doted on.
Janet had a lifelong love of language. She enjoyed reading poetry and was herself an amateur poet.
She looked forward to the weekly Herald cryptic crossword, over which she, Kevin and Neasha had a healthy competition, with Janet generally completing it and coming out on top.
Janet loved music and dancing. She was a huge Elvis fan, visiting Graceland on more than one occasion.
Janet also loved fancy dress, to the degree that it could at times be difficult to distinguish her normal attire from fancy dress.
Hallowe’en with her grandchildren provided a great opportunity to dress up as did the May Day floats procession which often involved Janet making outfits for herself and the rest of the family.
Janet had a unique sense of humour and could accurately be described as the life and soul of the party. Though happy to have a laugh and a joke and not one to take herself too seriously, Janet was focused and naturally able many areas.
She was an accomplished darts player and was the county champion for a time. In line with her creative nature, she had a keen interest in DIY. Preferring to take on any home improvement work herself wherever possible, she was in the process of doing up her flat in the months prior to her death.
Janet started her working life at Lilliput Lane around the mid-80s and worked until retiring on health grounds at the age of 72.
She made lots of friends through work, many of whom she became very close to and with whom she maintained in regular contact until her death. Janet’s active and sociable nature was was the driving factor in her determination to continue working long after reaching the typical age of retirement.
Janet was compassionate and charitable and always happy to give money to good causes. As a young mother she raised money for the RNIB.
Janet’s fundraising in conjunction with her love of fancy dress is an obvious inspiration for Tanya’s charitable work, with fancy dress for Tanya essential when fundraising through marathons and half marathons.
Janet was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in February. Although fully aware as to how poor her prognosis was, Janet approached the challenge before her selflessly and positively.
Determined to fight her illness, she maintained her dignity and her unique sense of humour right until then end. Janet spent the last two weeks of her life on Beech A/B ward at the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle.
Her concern about the wellbeing of the ward staff (as opposed to focusing on her own wellbeing) was evident in the days and hours before her death.
She expressed her gratitude to the ward staff through a poem entitled Bless You which is now on display on the ward.
Janet’s granddaughter, Ella, has with Tanya’s support raised about £200 which was used to buy a present for the ward staff, demonstrating a chartable streak spanning three generations.
Janet is survived by her children, Neasha, Tanya and Kevin; her son-in-law, Marcus, daughter-in-law, Rachel; and grandchildren, Ashleigh, Ella, Alfie, Anna, and Mae. She will be remembered as a wonderful mother, grandmother, sister, and auntie, and as a true friend to many.
Janet’s funeral took place after the lifting of COVID -19 related restrictions with regard to funerals.
It was heart-warming to Janet’s family that so many attended the church to pay their respects.
