Loving tributes are paid to kind nursery owner

Marian Howe died suddenly at her home in Westbourne from deep vein thrombosis on August 17. She was 83.

Mrs Howe is survived by her four children – Nigel, Sandy, Grahame, and Detta –as well as six grandchildren.

Her son-in-law, Ken Parry, said that Mrs Howe was ‘a real character’.

He said: ‘She was a very funny, very positive and very generous person.’

Born Marian Crawley on April 21, 1933, her father, George Crawley, was a tailor, while her mother, Gertrude Chuter, was his assistant.

The family moved to Lendorber Avenue in Cosham after their Southsea home was bombed during the Second World War.

Mrs Howe met her first husband, Walter Hullett, when working at the Airspeed factory in Portsmouth. They married in 1956 before Mr Mullett died 10 years later.

Mrs Howe is most well-known in the community for owning and managing Havant Nursery for nearly 50 years.

Ken, 56, said: ‘It was her life. The nursery was crucial to the Havant children. There’s so many people and their children who went there.’

Alongside her work at Havant Nursery before its closure in 2011, Mrs Howe spent many years as an active governor and PTA member at Bosmere Junior School.

Former governor Frank Hunwick and current governor Nick Durkee say that Marian was a ‘familiar and smiling figure’ at the school.

They said: ‘Mrs Howe was selfless and always ready to help, spending many hours at various events such as sports day and the Christmas Fair.’

Mrs Howe was also a trustee director at The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre in Havant for over 10 years.

Deputy director Jacqueline Fagg said: ‘Marian was always willing to help us out at the last minute, even after a hard day’s work, arriving with a huge smile on her face.’

‘Her fantastic rapport with the our younger audiences will be particularly remembered. Marian will be very much missed by everyone who knew her.’

A public memorial for Mrs Howe will be held at St Thomas a Becket Church in Warblington on September 19 at 12.30pm.