U.K.: Fond Farewell to Active 100-year-old Mother by Son, 71

HARTLEPOOL, England (Hartlepool Mail), August 30, 2006: A proud son has paid tribute to his "resilient" mother Hartlepool woman Hilda Rutherford who passed away on August 30. John, 71, described how his mother just wouldn't slow down despite her years. "My mother suffered a number of falls in her later years and had to undergo various hip replacement operations. But she was the sort of person who thought she was 50, not 100, and wouldn't slow down." Mrs Rutherford was born on February, 22, in 1906, in Marske, near Redcar, before moving to Dormanstown with her husband, the late Thomas Walter. She was a waitress and played the violin in an orchestra at a restaurant in Middlesbrough before moving to Hartlepool where her husband took up a job at the town's steelworks. But she gave up playing the instrument and became a housewife, devoting her life to bringing up John, Charles, now 76, and Gordon, now aged 69. The family lived in Wensleydale Street from 1936 until 1972, when Mrs Rutherford and her husband moved into a bungalow in Throston Grange Lane, shortly before he passed away. "Mum loved it when she moved to the bungalow - it had a garden, which she loved to tend to - the house in Wensleydale Street never had this. She kept it immaculate." He added: "She loved to keep busy and would often go and clean all her neighbours' windows, whether they wanted them doing or not!" He said his mother was very resilient and had "a heart as strong as an ox" despite her falls. "She had a good life and was very active and she never complained.We were very proud back in February when Mum became the first Elwick Grange resident to turn 100," John said. Mrs Rutherford leaves behind her three children, their partners Pamela and Kathy, grandchildren David and Ian Rutherford, Diane Marine, Jacqueline Crosby and Lynn Finlayson. She will also be sadly missed by her 11 great-grandchildren; Rebekah, Katie, Gemma and Sophie Rutherford, Rebecca and Katie Marine, Emily, Alex and Jack Crosby and Rachel and Rosie Finlayson. © 2006 Johnston Press