Obituaries

Olive Ellen Couture

Many may have known her only as ‘The Blandford Hat Lady’ or ‘Mrs Hat’. Olive Ellen Couture, who died aged 87 on January 25, was born in Hertford, the sixth of seven children. Five of them were boys, and Olive was apparently ‘a bit of a tomboy’ who spent her childhood and early teens during the war frequently sheltering in the coal cellar during air-raids, and remembered teachers reading to the children in the shelters. She met and married Michael, who served with the REME, and travelled and lived all over the world with their daughter Penny during his active service in Aidan, Kuwait, Germany, Brunei and Oman. A talented seamstress who made her own clothes and prided herself on her appearance throughout her life, her collection of hats started during her travels, continuing with many donations by family and friends, and she was also a semi-professional singer, who proudly recalled singing on the Ark Royal when the Royal Navy aircraft carrier visited during one of her husband’s postings abroad. They later settled in Blandford St Mary, where they had bought a cottage in the 1970s. Olive had often stayed there while Michael was away on service, and became involved with Blandford St Mary Church. She regularly gave talks on hats to local groups, and in April 1995 she helped to organise The Hat Affair, held in the Sealy Suite of the Crown Hotel, in support of the church, raising a total of £1,078. The programme featured a talk by the managing director of James Lock, hatters of London; her own talk; Mrs Betty Penny with the Cavalcade of Costume; hats donated for auction by Locks and other leading London milliners, including Philip Somerville and Graham Smith and stalls featuring hats and fashions from local shops. Eventually the couple moved to a bungalow in Larksmead, and after Michael passed away nine years ago, Mrs Couture moved to Chestnut House in East Street, from where she used to regularly walk into town to take lunch at the Crown. Latterly and living with dementia she became a resident at Whitecliffe House Care Home in Whitecliff Mill Street, where she died, leaving her daughter Penny and family, who thanked the care home and the many individuals and businesses in Blandford who had been so kind to her, particularly since her husband’s death. A private family funeral was held in February, and donations, if desired for Alzheimer’s Society, could be made online by visiting closefuneral.co.uk or by cheque payable to the charity c/o Colin J Close Funeral Service, Peel Close, Salisbury Road, Blandford DT11 7JU.

MRS HAT: Olive Ellen Couture

Hazel Warrington

Hazel Lillian Warrington, who died on January 22 aged 84, after suffering a series of strokes, was the wife of Blandford’s longest-serving Freeman Peter Warrington, and both served the community in a number of ways after the family moved to live in Blandford more than 40 years ago. They celebrated their diamond wedding in 2016 at the house in Bayfran Way, which was still their home. Hazel, nee Walters, had spent over two years during her childhood evacuated to a village in Worcestershire, but in 1943 returned to her home in Clacton, where she and Peter were childhood friends and neighbours and later work colleagues at the local Woolworth store. After their marriage in 1956, they moved regularly around the country as Peter was transferred from one store to another by Woolworth, for whom he became a store manager. Once all the children had started school, Hazel enjoyed working as a home help for many years, but when Peter took early retirement from his job as manager of Woolworth in Salisbury Street (now Iceland) after turning down another move to Farnborough, she joined him to run the fashion store Gemini (now Blandford Furniture Bazaar) further up Salisbury Street for 15 years until their retirement in 2002. As the parents of five children, both had become involved in the Cubs, Scouts, and the PTAs and governing bodies of local schools, so in addition to general ladies’ fashions stocked school, scouting and guiding uniforms and became one of Blandford’s main clothing retailers. Hazel had joined Peter for eight years on the town council, of which he was a member for many years, and together they served as Mayor and Mayoress in 1998. Deciding in 1999 that she wanted to ‘Ring In’ the new Millennium, she joined the parish bell ringers, and when her hands were no longer able to grip the bell rope, she became a member of the Shottesford Peelers, who played with a set of 12 handbells from the church tower at care homes, hospitals, the Georgian fayre and various other events. She became their treasurer and eventually leader until numbers fell, the group closed and the handbells were returned to the Blandford Church Tower. In retirement she also joined Knees-Up Healthy Living in the studio behind M&Co, becoming a committee member, and also volunteered with the Age UK shop and Age Concern lunch club until poor health forced her to stop. Her funeral service was held at Poole Crematorium on February 19.

EX-MAYORESS: Hazel Warrington, pictured in 1972 just before she came to Blandford with husband Peter