Tributes paid to Lavenham 100-year-old Margaret Slater who was determined to live life to the full to the end

An inspirational and resilient mother-of-five who lived and worked in Suffolk for the majority of her life has died at the age of 100.

Margaret Slater, who died on April 14, was born in Thorpe Morieux and lived for 40 years in Cockfield as a farmer’s wife before moving to Lavenham where she spent the last 23 years of her life.

As a young woman, Margaret trained as a Norland Nurse, a prestigious qualification that is widely considered the best in childcare, which saw her live in London and oversee some of the World War II evacuation efforts before moving back to Suffolk to work in Ipswich for the Ridley family.

In 1948 she married Don Slater, who was a farmer, and their first son Nick was born in 1949 followed by siblings Jerry who was born in 1951, Adrian in 1953, Caroline in 1955 and Andrew in 1966.

A dedicated farmer’s wife and mother, Adrian said of Margaret: “When we came back from school there would always be a fire in the grate, she would be there and she would have supper ready.

“That was one of the biggest things – we got the security of a loving home with parents who loved each other.”

Margaret faced many difficult times throughout her life including surviving breast cancer twice and enduring open heart surgery.

The family were struck by tragedy in 1995 when Nick, an RAF pilot, was killed in a plane crash off the Scottish coast.

Don, her husband of 59 years, died in 2007 and more sadness came when her daughter Caroline died of breast cancer in 2012 and son Jerry died in 2016 after suffering a heart attack.

Adrian said: “The loss of her children was the hardest thing she had to cope with.

“She was determined and resolute about living life to the full and she did that right until the very end. We always aged her 20 years less than her actual age, because that is what she was capable of,” he added.

In January this year, Margaret recieved another cancer diagnosis and was told this time, it was incurable.

Despite this, she remained living in her own home without a carer and, until just three weeks before her death, she would walk herself to the local shop every day to buy a newspaper.

Adrian said: “She was an active woman – even during Covid we had to ban her from going out and to the shop, that was the only way we could get her to stay at home.

“She remained independent and full of life to the end.”

In October last year Margaret celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by her family and friends, many of which were residents of Lavenham and surrounding villages who looked out for Margaret when Adrian and Andrew, who both moved away from Suffolk, were not there.

Adrian said: “The community at Deacon’s Close where she lived are incredible. It is something that is still so valuable about village life, especially around here. Everyone looks out for eachother.”

There will be a service of thanksgiving for Margaret’s life held at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Lavenham on Friday, April 28, at 2:30pm.

Anyone who knew Margaret is welcome and attendees are asked to wear bright colours, as she would have liked.