Friends and Relations

Betty was born on 30/03/1954 and sadly died on 31/05/2005.
Betty was born in Ilkley, one of four children and was visually impaired from birth. I first met Betty whilst we were both working for HM Revenue & Customs in Belgravia, London.We fell in love and became engaged and we married on 07/04/1979. We moved from London to begin married life in Farsley, Leeds, with all our worldly goods, including an ironing board, packed into my yellow mini.We both continued working for HMRC until she left to become a new Mum,in 1981.Our son Richard was born in May of that year and our daughter Jennifer followed in May 1984.As time went by, Betty's sight deteriorated further and she realised that she was becoming more dependant on the children, as her eyes. She knew this could not continue and applied for her first Guide Dog. Jane, a golden Labrador, brought to Betty her independance, confidence and literally changed her life.As the children grew older Betty decided that she wanted to put something back into Guide Dogs for the Blind and we became heavily involved in fund raising, doing things like, street collections, a sponsored blind drive and she became well known as an accomplished after dinner speaker.She gave several radio interviews championing Guide Dogs and later worked for Green Flag who went to the trouble of providing a photo security pass for her dog, who at this time was Odine, Jane having retired on her 10th birthday!
In 2004, Betty was diagnosed with terminal cancer and I and the children and her family was so proud of the way she handled this devasting blow.Despite her visual impairment we had a wonderful life together, Betty's number one priority was always myself and Richard & Jennifer.She was a great wife, a brilliant Mum, much loved by family and friends and will be greatly missed and will never be forgotten. I feel privileged to have been married to Betty in excess of 25 years.

 

Added by: RONALD BLUNDELL on 8th March 2010.

 

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Jennifer Blundell writes [20th July 2011]:

Betty was more than just an amazing person, she was the most amazing mum. I know it sounds easy to say but she really was my best friend. Growing up we were lucky that my mum chose to stay at home and we had many an adventure in the school holidays with her free bus pass. When I was six my mum decided to get her first guide dog and I was upset that I wouldnt be able to guide her any more and this is what helped her to decide it was a good idea. She was always determined that we would have a normal ... [read more from Jennifer Blundell]

 

 

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Charity Information

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

We want a society in which blind and partially-sighted people enjoy the same freedom of movement as everyone else