If I remember right Stella was a bit of a tomboy, mixing in with the lads and doing all the dares we did, she was a “good skin”. As the years went by, we lost track a bit – she told me years later how she became a biker girl and went all over. Because of family geographies and movements, we tended to see Stella at Easters and Christmases at our Rita’s in Field Lane or our Aileen’s in Southport. 

Stella’s life was not without tragedy, yet she was always stoic and humorous about her lot. I remember one Christmas when she had a cough but came along with a thick mask and gloves to stop others being contaminated. Such kind considerations were a hallmark of Stella. Another one I particularly liked was the pack of six “Speckled Hen” beers she bought me when I popped around for a chat a few years ago . 

Like me, she loved her cats – and that evening was quite entertaining to see if the puss would knock the clock off the mantlepiece! “It’s her way of getting attention” Stella told me. 

Stella retired from the Giro partly due to poor health and over time became housebound – her disease being an awful burden for her. With further deterioration she moved to a nursing home where she died. Sympathies to daughter Emma and Granddaughter Daisy.