A woman with a wide circle of friends, who was fun to be with and loved company, died suddenly at the age of 71.
Jennifer Carrick, of White Ox Way, Penrith, was born in Wigton in 1951, but moved to Penrith at a young age and attended St Catherine’s Primary School.
She lived with parents Arnold and Mildred Nicholson in a flat above Farren’s fish shop, in Middlegate, where her father worked.
The family, which by then included younger sister Lesley, then moved to Bluebell Lane and, in the 1970s, to Mill Street.
After leaving Tynefield School, Jennifer worked for Raymond Bulman accountants and then, throughout the 70s, for the NFU, at Corney Square, Penrith.
She met husband David at a rugby club dance and they married in 1977 at St. Catherine’s Church, Penrith, and lived initially at Petteril Road.
Son Phillip was born three years later and shortly after that Jennifer began working part-time for the former Penrith Sports Association, which raised money for town sports clubs and had an office in Little Dockray.
A part-time post at the town’s Sands shop followed, until, in 1985, she began working in her father’s fish shop, Nicholson’s, until the business was sold in 2002. She then worked for Gordon Clark butcher’s, in Great Dockray, and then the Jacksons, who took that business over, for a short while before retiring.
Latterly, Jennifer was a volunteer at the Jigsaw children’s hospice shop in Middlegate — a role she very much enjoyed.
“She looked forward to that,” said husband Dave. “Some of her friends were there and she made new friends. She also knew many customers.”
Jennifer was keen on sport, having played hockey and netball at school, and then badminton — which she played for more than 30 years in the Penrith and District League before retiring through injury.
She was on the league committee for many years and took over the organisation of the annual end of season presentation evening at Penrith Conservative Club. She and Shirley Ferguson also helped Eric Simpson run more than 70 Sunday handicap tournaments.
Jennifer would watch most sports and helped with teas at Lowther Cricket Club, where Dave played, as well as occasionally taking on the duties of scorer. She played darts at the Salutation pub in her youth and also enjoyed football, having been to Wembley twice — once with son Phillip to watch Middlesbrough and once to watch Carlisle United. She and Dave also had good days out with friends watching horse racing at venues including York, Ripon and Newbury and even the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. She also enjoyed watching tennis and was a spectator at Wimbledon on three occasions.
She loved music and was a big Rod Stewart fan, and she and Dave enjoyed long weekends away, often visiting the Windsor area when Phillip worked in the town.
As for many people, the COVID pandemic was a struggle for Jennifer, as she loved going out and had a wide circle of friends whose company she really missed.
“She was fun to be with, had a cheeky smile, and always had a reply for people,” said Dave, to whom she described herself as “your wife, your best friend and your taxi driver!”
Jennifer is survived by husband Dave, son Phillip and his wife, Dani, and sister Lesley, all of Penrith.
