Jane Treseder 1949 - 2009
Jane was born in Limerick of two well-known and delightfully eccentric families. On her father Terence’s side was the Irish Creamery system and the famous Cleeve toffees and on her mother’s side, the Heaths were generations of maltsters producing barley for Guinness in Dublin.
An Irish country childhood meant that Jane and her brother Mark helped on the family farm, played tennis, rode ponies, messed about in boats on Lough Derg during Regatta Week when they also lived on a houseboat and seaside holidays filled with swimming, mackerel fishing and more boating.
A family move to the Abbeyleix Estate made for a meeting with Peter’s family and Jane used to cycle over to have tea with his mother who became a friend. Jane was an excellent games player and avid bookworm, but when she was only 15 she started to have problems with her sight and was eventually diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a very rare and progressive form of macular degeneration.
Love of cooking meant a move to London for a Cordon Bleu course and work in hotels, residential homes and large country houses. One day Jane rang Peter’s mother who was now living near Bristol and was invited to Sunday lunch. Peter was at home that weekend and the rest as they say is history!
Setting up house at Cwrt-y-Gollen between Brecon and Abergavenny meant Jane could follow her determination that she married Peter, a serving Army Officer, to live with him. Postings to Catterick and Germany followed. Jane, with no military background, found herself running the Wives Club. It was not long before she realised that soldiers’ wives were generally speaking non-drivers, so with husbands away on exercise the car stood uselessly outside the married quarters – no shopping, no socialising, no help in emergency. So, a hugely successful driving course started (much to the soldiers’ dismay!) and soon the wives were able to meet up, shop at the NAAFI when they chose, visit nearby Holland and explore Germany. Air rifle shooting was another success with the wives challenging their husbands to a shooting match and trouncing them – this led to a great improvement in the soldiers’ shooting!
Returning to England and to Loughborough was a difficult time for Jane as her sight deteriorated, she had to stop driving and was registered as blind, although she retained good peripheral vision which meant that she could move around without bumping into things. Indeed, to the casual observer, there was no indication of blindness. Aids such as very sensitive touch, increasingly powerful magnification lenses and amazingly acute hearing all helped as did her prodigious memory – woe betide Peter if he didn’t put things back where she expected to find them!
Changes forced by Jane’s blindness meant that future plans changed and, after a time in London, Peter and Jane moved to East Knoyle in 1983 when he came to Blandford Camp. Village life soon involved Jane who was a neighbourhood watch co-ordinator, a church cleaner, a member of the women’s section of the Royal British Legion as well as a trusted supplier of kitchen and garden goods for many a stall. Jane never minded about getting herself involved.
And the revival of the ringing band at East Knoyle tower under Col. Bill Gough-Allen with a recruiting drive under the watchful eye of David Williams, Tower Captain, in 1991 was just what Jane, fascinated by bell ringing, needed. Could she ring? Could she cope without her full sight? To her lasting joy she found that she could and so both she and Peter (who would have to be her driver) learned to ring, making all the mistakes of amateurs, but becoming ever more proficient.
Jane soon rang her first quarter peal and was elected as Tower Captain of East Knoyle from 2000 to 2006. She rang her first full peal (treble to PB Minor) on 8th May 1995 at Chilmark in honour of the 50th Anniversary of VE Day with Frank Crosier conducting. Flushed with success, they rushed out and bought a Persian rug that afternoon – known as the peal rug. She rang one other peal, on 4th November 1995 at Motcombe, again the treble, this time to four minor methods, conducted by Judith Robertson. Both peals were rung for the Salisbury D.G.. Mention must be made of the Hereford Course, the Wilton Band as well as ringing comrades Judith & Ross Robertson, Anthony Lovell-Wood and Robert Wellen as we think how Jane rang many (in the region of 60) quarter peals and in over 140 towers, as well as supporting both Salisbury Guild and Mere Branch events and, of course, Peter as Chairman of the Mere Branch.
It was during 1996 that Jane heard of a family history of cancer. She took action immediately and was horrified to learn that she had a very small cancerous lump in one breast. Treated by surgery, radiotherapy and a 5-year course of Tamoxifen, Jane’s surgeon considered that she was cured after 9 years and need not attend the final 10th year check. Jane disagreed and went for her check.
Peter had just come out of theatre for a second knee replacement when Jane’s scan revealed two new primaries in the other breast. A decision to have surgery and simultaneous reconstruction was a hard-won battle for Jane who was ‘home alone’. Postoperative recovery was slow and long, taking the best part of 6 months.
The cancer had spread however and despite all the efforts of Jane and her medical team, supported by countless friends and organisations (here mention must be made of East Knoyle Village Shop) the inexorable decline continued. On 18th June, dressed and ready to come home from hospital, Jane died very peacefully.
We remember Jane for many things – her love and understanding of cooking, her enthusiasm for her very productive kitchen garden as well as her flowers and plants, her orchids, her dogs, riding and hunting in earlier years, her beekeeping skills and her love of snorkling, walking and wild flowers which took her to many parts of the world, her sense of fun and delight in finding small silly gifts for friends.
We know that she was loved and remembered not only in her adopted village of East Knoyle and surrounding area, but also in Ireland where a Sunday Service in a packed Adare Abbey was dedicated to Jane’s memory. Her memorial service in East Knoyle was preceded by a very well struck half muffled quarter peal of Plain Bob Doubles and a "touch" rung on hand bells over her grave was very moving.
Peter wants to record his huge thanks for many many kindnesses: the flowers in church were lovely and a tribute to all the gardeners who let their flower borders be raided. The tea was a real ‘tour de force’ which received much praise – what a standard you ladies set! To the bell ringers, mowers, cleaners, washer uppers and everyone who contributed to the success of all the services come Peter’s grateful thanks, he knows Jane would wish her thanks to be added too. Bless you all from the bottom of his heart – thank you.
Peter Treseder
