Marian Theresa Bird
(1954 – 2016)
Marian was born in Stechford, Birmingham, in 1954, the youngest of the eight children of Mr and Mrs Edward Whelan, a well-known local Catholic family.
After education at St Paul’s Girls School in Edgbaston, Marian trained as an infant and junior teacher at St Paul’s College in Newbold Revel, specialising in music, art and design. It was while at college that she met her future husband John when, by a twist of fate, they both found themselves unexpectedly on the Oxford leg of the Student Cross pilgrimage to Walsingham, on a lucky Friday 13 in April 1973.
It was love at first sight and they were soon engaged and then married on July 31, 197,6 at Corpus Christi Church in Stechford, moving to their first home in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, where they both worked in local schools.
Their sons John and Peter were born there, but in January 1983 the family moved south when John was appointed director of sixth form at All Hallows Catholic School. The upheaval of the move was accentuated by Marian being eight months pregnant, but she coped amazingly and her third son, Matthew, was born safely within a few weeks.
The family were regular attenders at St Joan of Arc Catholic church and the children attended St Polycarp’s Catholic school. While raising her family, Marian continued to work with young children, the great love of her life, providing pre-school teaching for small groups.
In 1987 the family decided to move to Alton, where a happy and successful life was devastated by the sudden death of Marian’s eldest son just before Christmas 1988, an isolated and inexplicable case of meningitis. Johnny died in intensive care in Basingstoke Hospital aged 11.
Despite the tragedy, Marian showed incredible strength and faith in holding the family together, and soon returned to teaching, joining the staff at St Polycarp’s, where she became co-ordinator of RE teaching.
Marian also developed her love of gardening and over the years transformed the family garden into an all-year display of colour and interest. She was at her happiest pottering in the green house, watching seedlings grow and nurturing them.
She was at peace in Nature, loving to watch the birds and other creatures, always taking care of even the smallest insect and letting it go free if it strayed into the house. She said that she found God most easily in the garden, among the wonders of Creation, although her Catholic faith also meant that she was an active participant at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Alton, where she was a special minister of the Eucharist and active in the Friends of St Mary’s Committee.
In 1996 she was asked to join the Alton Convent Junior staff where she spent 17 happy years, mainly in Years 3 or 4, her favourite age groups. It was during this time that she was first diagnosed with sarcoidosis, an incurable condition which for many people goes into remission.
Sadly, in Marian’s case, it proved to be progressive, and it was treated with steroids to slow its pace, which gave her many other problems and a number of serious illnesses. Despite those hardships, few who knew the cheerful, spirited and highly professional teacher would have ever guessed her sufferings.
Eventually, in 2014, she decided to retire as the effort of maintaining her own high standards was taking its toll and she was having increasing problems with her breathing.
This led to one of the happiest periods of Marian’s life when she had the joy of tending her beautiful garden, while enjoying the achievements of her sons Pete and Matt.
Pete’s marriage to Carrie produced three lovely grandchildren, Letty, John and Luke, and 2016 was made memorable in April when she travelled to the USA to see Matt married to Gina in her home town on Long Island, followed by a repeat celebration in Alton and Frensham in May.
On a personal level, Marian’s life drew towards its close, as she fulfilled a life-time ambition which she had scarcely known existed. Through her attendance at Jane Ashley-Brian’s art classes she discovered she had a real talent as an artist. Her output of work in a variety of formats, 3D, silk painting and especially oils gave her enormous joy and a great sense of achievement. Her home began to fill with large canvases which husband, John, says will leave a permanent reminder of a wonderful wife.
He added: “She was beautiful, hard-working, feisty in due measure, absolutely conscientious, but always had time to really listen to and love those that she encountered. She was a very special lady and I was privileged and blessed to share forty-three years with her.”
John Bird