Irene, always known as Rene was my grandmother. She married Herbert Coxon in April 1934. He was also a bookmaker. They had one child, a daughter, Rene. Herbert died in 1956 from Bronchiectasis, a lung illness. Irene never married again until the 70s. She had a fight with cancer & had her stomach & gall bladder removed in 1957, doctors said she would have around 10 years to live, she lived until 1991. She was a fighter for the Dying with Dignity bill passed in Hansard standing by her beliefs when she was dying. She was a great ballroom dancer, loved gardening & did so sewing much for everyone. She would often have bits about gardening in the local Preston paper on tips for gardeners. She would write notes on anything that interested her & put lot into books. She had a hate for the Labour Party & kept notes of the lies Bob Hawke told. Her best friend was a neighbour who always spoke of the rotten person he was to his wife. My grandmother would write it all down. She was born into a catholic family so all the children were catholic. She always said she denounced the religion & became Agnostic. After she died there were books on Buddhism. She ran a boarding house in Murphy Grv Preston for many years then shifted to start another in Plenty Rd again to Reservoir. She finally lived in a commission unit in Nunan Pl Reservoir until 1990. She became ill & was put into PANCH hospital where they thought she had a stroke. There were many test she had finally to determine a Brain tumour, inoperable & she would only survive about 6 months. We took her to Mildura to be cared for by family, I worked at the hospital I saw her ever day. October she said she had to go back to hospital. She passed away very peacefully Feb 10 1991.
I miss her very much.
I miss her very much.
