A MUCH-LOVED grandmother is being mourned by her family after she passed away suddenly following a short illness.

Jannette Maynard, of Waltham Cross, had just celebrated her 73rd birthday on March 11 and had spent a happy day with her son Geoff, daughter-in-law Lauren and granddaughters Emily-Rose, 17, and Clara, 1.

But she tragically died eight days later and now her distraught family, including her beloved younger sister Tina and brother David and stepbrother and sister Paul and Sonia, are preparing for her funeral at the Woodland Burial Site in North Weald on Monday March 30 at 10.30am.

Jan, as she was known, was born in Wellington, Shrops but spent her formative years travelling where her father Ted’s planning work took him including to Oakington in Cambrideshire.

The family also lived in Moshi in the picturesque foothills of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with teenager Jan travelling to boarding school in Nairobi, Kenya.

On returning to Britain following the death of her mother Agnes in a road crash in Tanzania, Jan and the family settled in Ongar.

She played in local tennis and badminton clubs and continued her interest in the girl guide movement as well as working in a chemist in Epping High Street.

She married her husband John in and settled in Epping, first in Allnuts Road then Crossing Road and they had a son Geoff in 1971.

The family later moved to Sedge Green, Roydon and Jan played for Roydon Badminton Club as well as being a member of the village hall committee.

Her long and happy working life saw her take jobs as school matron at the Anglo-European School in Bishop’s Stortford and Broxbourne School. She was still working 4 days a week at Boots in Hoddesdon at the time of her death and had made many friends here.

Flowers for the funeral should be arranged with WJ Murray in Waltham Cross.

ends Based on information supplied by Geoff Maynard.