Maureen is a gracious, quietly spoken tea-drinking woman, born and bred on the West Coast, and with a twinkle in her eye and tint in her hair suggesting a colourful nature beneath. She’s recently ventured into the world of fruity brews and enjoys a good cappuccino with cinnamon from a decent café on occasion. Maureen is a connoisseur of sweet things, and nothing goes with a good cappuccino like a delectable cream horn, a Blanchfield’s Bakery special!
Her generous heart finds her checking in on this one or that, to offer a word of advice or encouragement, her days full and occupied.
Maureen was born in the Grey Base Hospital, later returning to work there as a Ward’s Maid when she left school. Ward’s Maids did many things, much of this centred around cleaning, every floor in every room of every ward mopped clean enough to eat off, a far cry from the priorities of today. She vividly remembers that one of her chief responsibilities was to take a pound of butter and cut it into small pieces, stretching the luscious lard between all thirty patients in the ward. Each was allocated a small pill container of butter for their breakfasting pleasure, making the rubbery toast marginally more palatable.
Leaving her maiding career, Maureen took up a role at the Laundry down by the wharf, the hub of industry. Her eyes light up as she tells of the “Mangle”, a large heated electric steam roller for pressing and drying the sheets. Sheets, manhandled by a couple of workers were spread flat and fed into the massive machine, whipped through to dry and press, and be collected on the other side by folders and stackers. Mischief making sometimes ensued with the Mangle ramped up to high speed, sheets flying through at lightening pace, creating havoc on the far side as the mountain of pressed sheets stacked high, colleagues unable to keep up with the tempo! Mangle is an apt word for these rollers and their action. I recall, with a smile and a wince, a good few tee shirts “mangled” along with a finger or two on flatting laundry days!
Paid work made way for homemaking, caring for Amber and Clinton, the two children previous husband Kevin and Maureen were blessed with, and of whom she is rightly proud. Amber, now Perth-dwelling is a mining contractor, and recently Maureen took the arduous seven-hour flight to spend a delightful couple of weeks with daughter Amber, her granddaughters, and great grandchildren. Chuckling, she reminisces about talking to pregnant Amber, truck driving underground in the mine three weeks before birthing. “We’ve already had a baby in a stable, Amber, we don’t need one down a mine!”
Son, Clint, is an experienced meatworks employee and lives in nearby Greymouth. Maureen speaks gratefully of him, always on hand to help with odd jobs, and embracing the warm connection he has with neighbours in his part of the world.
Later through extended whānau, Maureen met new husband Alan, who had moved to Kumara, his childhood habitat, after repeated extensive flooding of his Blaketown home in 1988 prior to the Grey River Floodwall being established. Alan phoned to request a date, but Maureen refused initially. Alan’s persistence paid off however, romance eventually blossomed, and a marriage followed in the back yard of the Kumara home.
While married to Alan, Maureen took up a position as a caregiver at Granger House, completing her certificate in Community Care of the Elderly, inclusive of both on the job experience and Polytech training. This was the occupation she enjoyed the most, relishing the connection with residents on a daily basis, and expanding her world as she worked. Perhaps the mischievous glint in Alan’s eye is what caught her own, mirroring her quiet zest for life, and a happy (although not always easy) quarter of a century were spent together. Sadly, she bid him a final earthly farewell after caring for him through a long illness, neither of them guessing the skills honed in her caregiver role would be used so close to home.
Now retired, Maureen’s daily rhythm includes settling down to the Wordfind puzzle or a good book, watched on by beloved felines Jack and Bob. A romantic at heart, she enjoys Milly Johnson, British author of romantic fiction, Mills and Boons, and a flick through the Women’s Weekly or People’s Friend. Stories come in many forms however, and Maureen displays a solid commitment to her unpaid (and largely unacknowledged) casual role as local movie reviewer. Questions about the latest movies seldom find them unseen, with a quick rundown of the story line, viewer response, and expert opinion on whether it's worth a look!
Maureen’s knowledge of the God of her faith started as a youngster, her mum holding to Catholic traditions, but this rarely permeating into everyday life. Her faith has grown over the years, now much more personal, and she enjoys the local gathering of the faithful in Kumara, a satellite ministry of Holy Trinity in Greymouth. Maureen describes her connections there as spiritual, casual and real, a place of relationship and deep connection.
A favoured spot is the breakwater guarding the Grey River entrance, giving witness to the power of relentlessly crashing waves, spray dousing the unsuspecting bystander.
Recently, when asked by a person young in the faith how we can know what life path the Lord has for us, she pondered momentarily in a review of her life before wisely responding.
Thanks, Maureen, for your sage reminder that God is still on the throne and is in charge of the details of our lives. Let’s learn to do what we can and leave what belongs to God in his ever-capable hands.
Check out other articles in the
Coffee With...
series below.
More articles in the
Coffee With...
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Maureen is a gracious, quietly spoken tea-drinking woman, born and bred on the West Coast, and with a twinkle in her eye and tint in her hair suggesting a colourful nature beneath. She’s recently ventured into the world of fruity brews and enjoys a good cappuccino with cinnamon from a decent café on occasion. Maureen is a connoisseur of sweet things, and nothing goes with a good cappuccino like a delectable cream horn, a Blanchfield’s Bakery special!
Her generous heart finds her checking in on this one or that, to offer a word of advice or encouragement, her days full and occupied.
Maureen was born in the Grey Base Hospital, later returning to work there as a Ward’s Maid when she left school. Ward’s Maids did many things, much of this centred around cleaning, every floor in every room of every ward mopped clean enough to eat off, a far cry from the priorities of today. She vividly remembers that one of her chief responsibilities was to take a pound of butter and cut it into small pieces, stretching the luscious lard between all thirty patients in the ward. Each was allocated a small pill container of butter for their breakfasting pleasure, making the rubbery toast marginally more palatable.
Leaving her maiding career, Maureen took up a role at the Laundry down by the wharf, the hub of industry. Her eyes light up as she tells of the “Mangle”, a large heated electric steam roller for pressing and drying the sheets. Sheets, manhandled by a couple of workers were spread flat and fed into the massive machine, whipped through to dry and press, and be collected on the other side by folders and stackers. Mischief making sometimes ensued with the Mangle ramped up to high speed, sheets flying through at lightening pace, creating havoc on the far side as the mountain of pressed sheets stacked high, colleagues unable to keep up with the tempo! Mangle is an apt word for these rollers and their action. I recall, with a smile and a wince, a good few tee shirts “mangled” along with a finger or two on flatting laundry days!
Paid work made way for homemaking, caring for Amber and Clinton, the two children previous husband Kevin and Maureen were blessed with, and of whom she is rightly proud. Amber, now Perth-dwelling is a mining contractor, and recently Maureen took the arduous seven-hour flight to spend a delightful couple of weeks with daughter Amber, her granddaughters, and great grandchildren. Chuckling, she reminisces about talking to pregnant Amber, truck driving underground in the mine three weeks before birthing. “We’ve already had a baby in a stable, Amber, we don’t need one down a mine!”
Son, Clint, is an experienced meatworks employee and lives in nearby Greymouth. Maureen speaks gratefully of him, always on hand to help with odd jobs, and embracing the warm connection he has with neighbours in his part of the world.
Later through extended whānau, Maureen met new husband Alan, who had moved to Kumara, his childhood habitat, after repeated extensive flooding of his Blaketown home in 1988 prior to the Grey River Floodwall being established. Alan phoned to request a date, but Maureen refused initially. Alan’s persistence paid off however, romance eventually blossomed, and a marriage followed in the back yard of the Kumara home.
While married to Alan, Maureen took up a position as a caregiver at Granger House, completing her certificate in Community Care of the Elderly, inclusive of both on the job experience and Polytech training. This was the occupation she enjoyed the most, relishing the connection with residents on a daily basis, and expanding her world as she worked. Perhaps the mischievous glint in Alan’s eye is what caught her own, mirroring her quiet zest for life, and a happy (although not always easy) quarter of a century were spent together. Sadly, she bid him a final earthly farewell after caring for him through a long illness, neither of them guessing the skills honed in her caregiver role would be used so close to home.
Now retired, Maureen’s daily rhythm includes settling down to the Wordfind puzzle or a good book, watched on by beloved felines Jack and Bob. A romantic at heart, she enjoys Milly Johnson, British author of romantic fiction, Mills and Boons, and a flick through the Women’s Weekly or People’s Friend. Stories come in many forms however, and Maureen displays a solid commitment to her unpaid (and largely unacknowledged) casual role as local movie reviewer. Questions about the latest movies seldom find them unseen, with a quick rundown of the story line, viewer response, and expert opinion on whether it's worth a look!
Maureen’s knowledge of the God of her faith started as a youngster, her mum holding to Catholic traditions, but this rarely permeating into everyday life. Her faith has grown over the years, now much more personal, and she enjoys the local gathering of the faithful in Kumara, a satellite ministry of Holy Trinity in Greymouth. Maureen describes her connections there as spiritual, casual and real, a place of relationship and deep connection.
A favoured spot is the breakwater guarding the Grey River entrance, giving witness to the power of relentlessly crashing waves, spray dousing the unsuspecting bystander.
Recently, when asked by a person young in the faith how we can know what life path the Lord has for us, she pondered momentarily in a review of her life before wisely responding.
Thanks, Maureen, for your sage reminder that God is still on the throne and is in charge of the details of our lives. Let’s learn to do what we can and leave what belongs to God in his ever-capable hands.
Check out other articles in the
Coffee With...
series below.
More articles in the
Coffee With...
series are to come.
