obituary Thelma Sheriff

 Thelma Sheriff

1933 - 2023

Thelma Sheriff, nee Oldham, who has died aged 90, is survived by sister Iris and sons Fraser and Stephen.

A funeral service will be held at York Cemetery, Fishergate, 25th. January 2024 at 13:30 where she will receive burial, along with the remains of her late husband, Donald Sheriff. There will be a memoria at Hotel Don Pancho, Paseo Mediterraneo, Benidorm at the same time.

Thelma was born in Sheffield and lived through the war years with her Father, Frederick, her mother Clara and Iris on Barrie Drive.  Her accounts of those years and the struggle which the country faced afterwards are amongst some of the most vivid I have heard, in particular of the frequent bombing raids on Sheffield, in its steelmaking capacity, then a strategic target for the enemy. 

Her first employment was at Marshall and Snellgrove in the city centre where she worked as a seamstress. She progressed via various other placements throughout her life, always with her skills as a dressmaker to the fore. She married Donald in 1954 and they moved to private accomodation at Daresbury Road where she gave birth to her children. In the early seventies, they began to travel to Spain on a regular basis. Her level of Spanish improved considerably over the years to the extent that she was able to speak with the hotel staff in their own language, especially when something wasn't quite to her liking! Several trips each year always included at least one stay at Hotel Don Pancho in her beloved Benidorm. She spent the final years of her life at Grimston Bar in York.