On behalf of our family, I would like to thank you all for being here today to celebrate the life of Dulcie, our Mum, Mother-in-law and Gran. I would also like to thank you for your beautiful messages of comfort conveyed through phone calls, cards and the Lord Howe noticeboard, since her passing.
One particular message caught my attention. It was from Kara, and it read, “Les will be waiting for you at the gate”. It painted a picture in my mind and brought a smile to my face. I thought, if that be true, I can imagine Dad going looking for Aunty Thel while he is waiting for Mum so they can both be there to greet her.
Also, on behalf of our family, I would like to thank Chappy for flying over to officiate at another family funeral. We are so grateful to have you here Chappy, this time to honour Mum’s wish.
As much as we love seeing you though, we hope it is weddings, baby dedications or joyful events that bring you here in the future, not funerals.
Dulcie King was born in Bondi on the 23rd of August 1935 to Hilda Fosbery. On 25th October, 1935, Mum was officially adopted by Henry and Hilda West of Lord Howe Island. Mum was cherished and doted upon by her adoring parents Henry and Hilda, and enjoyed a lovely childhood with them, and growing up with her cousins on Lord Howe.
On 14th March 1953, following completing her schooling, Mum left Lord Howe to go to Sydney. Nan (Mum’s mother) wrote of this event in her Bible. It reads, “My darling Dulcie went away to Sydney. I miss her terribly, must be brave and think of her future which I pray will be a happy one”.
Mum worked in David Jones in Elizabeth Street which began her almost lifelong career in retail, and her great love of all things David Jones. David Jones Elizabeth Street, and David Jones, Bondi Junction were sure shopping destinations for Mum on her and Dad’s many visits to the mainland over the years.
Following working at David Jones, Mum worked in a beautiful boutique in Sydney that sold exclusive knitwear.
During her time in Sydney, Mum also started nursing at Crown Street Hospital, but chose not to pursue nursing as a career.
Mum then went to Townsville in North Queensland with her girlfriend Iris (for those of you who may not know, Iris was Aunty Doreen Retmock’s sister). Mum and Aunty Iris worked for a commercial traveller selling ladies and menswear and home furnishings. They travelled up to the Atherton Tablelands, and through central Queensland and the Northern Territory selling the merchandise. Mum also had to model swimsuits for the buyers!
In May 1958, Mum’s father Henry, passed away suddenly following a heart attack and Mum came back to Lord Howe.
On New Year’s Eve of that year, Dad, who was home on leave from the Air Force, invited Mum to the New Year’s Eve event. It so happened to be the screening of, “The King and I”, which was quite fitting given that Dad was a King!
Mum and Dad were married 4 months later on 2 April 1959. They began their married life in Nelson Bay, with Dad stationed at the Williamtown RAAF base.
Tracey was born in 1960 and Stuart in 1962. In 1963, Mum and Dad moved back to Lord Howe Island when Dad accepted the position of Assistant Superintendent.
Hayden was born in 1964. Mum, like Dad, was very involved in community life on Lord Howe, and held quite a number of positions over the years, all of which she carried out with aplomb.
Beginning in 1969, while myself, Stuart and Hayden were at school, Mum was Treasurer of the P&C (Parents & Citizens Association) for over 10 years. For over 25 years, Mum also ran the Senior Citizens Association, a role which she greatly enjoyed and took enormous pride in. I found Mum’s record books of the Senior Citizens Entertainment programs and they run from the 12th June, 1989 to 29th January 2015. Senior Citizens Week was a highlight for Mum each year, as I am sure it was for all those attending. It was a spectacular week of events, beginning with a special service at the Anglican Church followed by activities each day ranging from a buffet lunch at Beachcomber to a Cruise to the Bay with Pete, a Cocktail Party at Government House, a Turtle Tour with Anthony, a fantastic Ned’s Beach Barbeque, and culminating with a special service at the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Mum was very committed too, and involved in, the Seventh-day Adventist Church of which she became a member on 17 April, 1970. Mum’s involvement included being Church Clerk, which is keeping all the records of the Church, for some 40+ years, which we have been told is a record for someone holding that position.
As well, she was a Sabbath School leader for many years. This involved leading out in the 9:30 am Saturday service. Mum put great thought into preparing and presenting interesting and memorable programs. She was always on the look-out for beautiful and inspiring quotes or stories to support or illustrate a theme she was wanting to portray.
Mum was also on the Church cleaning roster, which entailed cleaning the Church as well as arranging the flowers for a particular week. When it was Mum’s turn, you could always count on the Church being immaculately clean and the flowers spectacular.
In addition, Mum, for many years, took part in collecting annually for what is now known as the ADRA Appeal. Mum was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain. I know many of you can attest to having enjoyed beautiful meals with her and Dad. Mum’s lamb roasts and corned beef with her speciality mustard sauce were second to none. As well, her sponge cakes and pavlovas are legendary and were sought after at many a community and church event. Almost equally as popular were her corn patties.
Mum was incredibly hospitable and just dropping in for a coffee with her and Dad would result in a lovely spread of freshly baked cakes or sweet biscuits, or biscuits with tasty toppings of cheese, avocado, and the like.
Mum was extremely house proud and kept a beautiful home, both inside and out. While the lawns were Dad’s domain and his pride and joy, the gardens were very much Mum’s handiwork. As many of you would be aware, where our home is situated used to be a paddock. All the rock gardens, plants and shrubs you see today are Mum’s doing. Mum had a flair for fashion and always dressed herself, and Dad, beautifully. She was also a great contributor to my wardrobe, and in fact, the wardrobes of all her family, Stuart, Hayden, Wayne, Lea and all the grandchildren. A number of years ago, Wayne and I ran into a lady and her husband from a Church we had attended many years previously. The lady said to Wayne, “You’re still dressing beautifully. I’ve always admired your fashion sense … it’s that little bit “edgy”. I guess you have Tracey to thank for that.” Wayne laughed and said, “no .. . actually it’s my mother-in-law”.
Speaking of fashion takes me back to my earlier mention of Mum and almost a life-long career in retail. On Lord Howe, Mum spent many years, while Stuart, Hayden and I were at school, working at Lagoon Store which was owned by Aunty Babe Green.
Taking a break from retail, Mum spent time working at Pinetrees doing the ironing in order to fund her and my first trip overseas to England and Europe.
On her return from overseas, Mum worked at Hibiscus Boutique, which was located at Thompson’s Store and owned by her friend Judy Maddrell.
Also situated at Thompson’s Store for many years was the Westpac Bank Agency run by Aunty Marie and Uncle Barry Thompson. Aunty Marie recalls Mum “graciously helping her out for 6 months”.
In 1991 , Mum began working at Larrups, a clothing store owned by Lisa Makiiti. Mum loved her time at Larrups and was there for over a decade until the early 2000’s, finishing only as she wished to spend more time with Dad. To quote Lisa, “Dulce’s sales skills were second to none. As soon as the customer walked into the store, they were doomed to part with their money.”
One day, Mum actually sold one of Lisa’s own shirts which she had left hanging on a chair behind the counter when she went to lunch.
Mum loved and was incredibly proud of her family. Photos of them adorned almost every room in her home. Each year, Lea made a calendar of family photos as a gift for Mum. This was something that Mum treasured and took pride of place in the kitchen.
Mum always wanted to know, down to the very last detail, about any family achievements, particularly those of her grandchildren. She would then enthusiastically share, or maybe even brag about them, at any opportunity.
The poet Henry Longfellow famously wrote, “Into each life, some rain must fall” and this certainly speaks to Mum’s last number of years. Declining health for both Mum and Dad, and a subsequent fall for Dad, resulted in them being flown to Sydney in June 2021. This difficult time was compounded when our family was advised that Mum and Dad could not medically return to Lord Howe.
As the saying goes, “there is no place like home” but both Mum and Dad and our family will always be extremely grateful to Estia Aged Care at Blakehurst for the wonderful second home they provided for Mum and Dad and for the care and kindness they showed both to them and our family.
Losing Dad last September was a major blow for Mum and she was never quite the same after.
Mum passed away peacefully on Sunday, 31 March, just 2 days shy of what would have been her and Dad’s 65th wedding anniversary.
