Kathleen "Kay" Hilda Euridge née Veasey
(25 July 1924 to
5 July 2011)
5 July 2011)
Kathleen “Kay” Euridge, mother of nine children, died peacefully on Tuesday July 5, at the age of 86, at the home of her youngest daughter in Hurley Common, Warwickshire. She had suffered from cancer for the last five months.
Kay was widowed at the early age of 34, when her husband, Royal Marine Colour Sergeant, Reginald “Red” Charles Euridge, died in a tragic scooter accident 2 days before Christmas on December 23 1958, when travelling to Exeter his scooter skidded on ice at Cockwood. At that time their nine children were aged between 3 and 16. She single-handled raised all nine children, with the philosophy you “reap as you sow”. Her nine children Michael, Reginald “Roger”, Marie, Richard, Terry, Teresa, Kelvin “Bill”, Kay, and Robin are testimony to her beliefs.
Kay was born on July 25 1924 in Carmarthen, Wales. She was the youngest daughter of Herbert and Margaret Veasey née Rees. At the age of 3 she moved to Stoford, Somerset – her father Herbert, a Woodman, originated from nearby Upton Noble. They then moved to Yeovil.
She was predeceased by her siblings Annie Mary Evans, Gwendoline Chant, Leonora “Nora” Adams, and Herbert Reginald Veasey.
At the early age of 16 she married Reginald “Red” Charles Euridge, who she met on Weymouth railway station during WWII. Kay had dropped her suitcase and the contents had spilled onto the platform, and he helped her pick them up. They married, and settled in Yeovil.
After the war, Red re-joined the Royal Marines, and in 1953 they moved to Barkara, and St. George’s Bay in Malta. In February 1954 they moved to “Briar Hill”, Shutterton Lane, Dawlish Warren.
After the tragic death of her husband, Kay moved to 16 Third Avenue, Dawlish, and in 1994 she moved to 54 Linden Road, Dawlish. She lived in Dawlish for over 50 years, and was well known. However, in her later years, due to failing health, she moved to Hurley Common to live with her youngest daughter Kay.
Kay Euridge was a strong character, but warm, and affectionate mother who was dedicated to her 9 children, 19 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. Her hobbies were gardening, knitting, music, and she loved cruising on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) – enjoying trips to New York, Florida, Malta, Dubrovnik, the Norwegian Fjords, and the Arctic Circle.
