25/11/2025
It is with the saddest heart that I have to announce that my beautiful mum, Jean Corless, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Saturday morning.
Mum was the absolute backbone to our family who quietly and stoically just got on with life even in her darkest hours. She was the Deputy Chief fire officer of Gloucester's daughter who married her soulmate, the Chief fire officer's son. Together they were the best team imaginable , and when dad became a vicar, she dedicated her life to him and the church. Dad was the most brilliant priest but mum was his driving force,his life blood,the one who pushed him socially and organised his world. Along came my brother, Conrad, and then I appeared just 11 months later so she had her hands full. Nearly a decade later my sister Sophie, entered the world. We had an unusual but brilliant childhood with a dad who didn't sense danger and encouraged free play ( often joined in), and a mum who grounded us , nurtured and cared for us tirelessly. Dad's job wouldn't have functioned without the full time unpaid work mum did in the background,a proper vicar's wife . We were quite poor but felt so rich.
She worked with the Mother's Union both at Ashchurch where we spent the whole of our childhood, and also the diocese, becoming the overseas representative for Gloucestershire. She was hugely important and yet no one would ever have known. She worked in the church office next to the cathedral for years and loved every second. She made it her job to know and look after all the women connected with the Mother's Union in their hour of need,the same as my dad looked after every parishioner in theirs , regardless of their own needs and privacy. She fundraised for the MU and church, even abseiling down the church tower when this kind of thing was unheard of, made teddies for prisoners, ran children's events and created a huge social life for Ashchurch parish.
As we grew, mum was always there as our cheerleader and guide literally through thick and thin. She was immensely proud of her children, adored her grandchildren and did all she could to keep her family together with relentless family events all created by her.
Mum lost dad 19 years ago this December when she was only 63. The grief was all encompassing and she never got over it. She lost her left arm, but she continued supporting others with the MU and working for the church, and living for her family. A doer and creator.
Not long after dad died, she asked me if she could come and work on reception in the salon to give her some purpose. She worked 3 days a week, and found a new passion enjoying dressing up, putting her lipstick on and caring for everyone. She loved looking after you all and then covid stopped everything in her world.
Her health took a decline during this spell, and unable to drive any more, she never came back to work.
And this has slowly brought us to the gut wrenching sadness of today. She's been housebound for the last 3 years, and in fact for the last year, she's been living in her reclining chair. Life has been immeasurably hard, and she had become very tired, but she had still found so much pleasure by enjoying the antics of her family, and particularly her 5 grandchildren . I don't think I could have endured her last few years, but selfishly I wasn't ready to say goodbye. In recent weeks, she had become more tired and sleepy, but I was still hoping that she would keep going.
Mum was scared of dying on her own, and I feel so terribly guilty that this is indeed what she ended up having to face, but I will take comfort in the fact that she passed in her sleep so won't have known that that was what she was facing. I pray that my dad was there to greet her, and that she is now at peace.
I love you mum. The world will not be the same without you.
Feeling very broken right now 💔
