Jackie Hotchkiss

For Mum

As you grow older, you become increasingly aware that the day must come when you have to say goodbye to the mum that raised you and made you who you are. And yet, however hard you try, you’re never ready for it when that day finally comes.

I’m standing here in front of you to say something to honour my mother’s life. In truth however I don’t know where to begin, when I consider what a staggeringly remarkable life she led.

The young Jacqueline Carol Smith I never knew; I know her two sisters and brother will remember her from back then, but I am sure that in youth she had so many of the traits that I know many of you will remember about her most fondly. She was always immensely thoughtful, and unfailingly kind. A meticulous planner, she always looked before leaping, but had no fear to leap.

In 1969, at only eighteen years of age, she met a young man, Ian Hotchkiss, whilst studying for her BSc in Chemistry at the University of Birmingham. Three years later, just before starting her subsequent master’s degree, she married him, and the two of them began a journey together that was to last 51 years.

My mother, Jackie, touched the lives of so many people, even long before I was born. She had an enduring passion for teaching and helped shape the futures of so many students. The girls she taught in Saudi Arabia I’m sure were changed in ways even she probably never knew. She taught chemistry and science to generations of kids over the decades, but myself, I will always remember her for much simpler things. She taught me to cook, she taught me to bake, she taught me to make the bed & reminded me to wrap up warm, and most of all, she taught me right from wrong.

She was a loving wife, a loving mother, the best companion, and a deeply caring friend. Even at the end, when her body couldn’t give any more, she still gave me words of encouragement and took the time to sit me down and tell me how proud she was of me. She raised two remarkable boys and throughout my life my lasting memory of her is that she was always doing something for us. She worked hard every day of her life, and when she wasn’t working hard for us, she was working hard for the students she was teaching. She survived massive personal challenges, but always put everyone else in front of her. No matter where I was or what I was doing, I knew that Mum was worrying about me. There were times when I used to say to her “don’t worry Mum” and she would always reply “that’s what I do”.

From the amazing breakfasts she used to make for us in the caravan, to her marinated chicken, or her rhubarb crumble, my brother and I were the luckiest kids in the world growing up. My mum loved to garden & help things grow, and of all the things she helped grow, we were her greatest accomplishment. I remember we used to bike a lot as a family when I was young, but what I always remember the most is that whilst Dad and Jeff would be off adventuring in the distance, Mum was always behind me, making sure all of us were safe. She was our rock, our guide, our heart & our conscience.

I know she loved my father very, very much, and never in my life have I known two souls who were more perfect soulmates. Together they travelled the world, and never was my mum happier than with my dad, listening to the birds, walking amongst the trees, exploring the mountains, and driving through fields & meadows.

And so, I’d like to end with a short poem to my mum, that I offer up with all my heart:

 

If roses grow in Heaven, Lord,

Please pick a bunch for me.

Place them in my mother’s arms,

And tell her they’re from me.

Tell her that I love & miss her,

And when she turns to smile,

Place a kiss upon her cheek,

And hold her for a while.

For remembering her is easy,

I do it every day,

But there’s an ache within my heart now,

That will never go away.

I love you, Mum