Remembering Gloria

Gloria

Gloria Andrew was born on 7th February 1949 and lived at New Buildings, Porthkerris with her parents, Horace and Rhoda May. She had an older brother and sister, Ben and Hazel. There was a ten-year gap between Hazel and Gloria, who was a ‘late’ baby for her parents.

Her early life must have been hard, as the New Buildings had no running water and having no electricity meant they used candles indoors. Attending primary school at Porthallow, necessitated Gloria walking along the steep coast path four times a day. And more times if her mother needed something from the shop in Porthallow.

Once when she had gone to fetch a turnip she met a local lad, Ronnie Curnow, on the way back up and he knocked the turnip from her hands, sending it hurtling to the beach below—which meant another trip down the path to recover the turnip—and he never let her forget it!.  

Around 1959 the quarry owners, who owned the houses at Porthkerris, decided to demolish them, as it was too costly to renovate the buildings to a suitable standard. The family was reluctant to move but they were finally rehoused on the newly built Treskewes Estate in St Keverne.

Gloria completed her education at Helston Green School and worked at Willingales Newsagents in Church Street and various other jobs around Helston. Towards the end of the 60’s Gloria met a sailor called Richard Burton and they were married in 1970. This upset her father, for not only was Richard navy, but a Geordie too. ‘What’s wrong with a Cornish lad?’ was her father’s response.

Gloria and Richard had two children, Richard Jnr and Caroline. But in 1986, tragedy struck the family a double blow. Richard suddenly died at home and Gloria’s mother died a few days later. The family was devastated.

In time Gloria was persuaded to pick up the pieces of her life by her good friend, Pat Hocking, who invited her to a concert given by a Welsh choir in the Parish Hall. One of the tenors, Jeff Vaughan, caught her eye—she had also caught his eye! The rest, as they say, is history. If Gloria’s late father disapproved of a Geordie matelot, what would he have made of a singing Welshman?

Jeff and Gloria were married in Helston in 1992. Between them they had seven grandchildren, and it was the role of Nanny she loved the most, spoiling them whenever she could. 

The couple also enjoyed trips abroad, something Gloria especially relished. But in the last ten years it became apparent that Gloria’s health was in decline and she was eventually diagnosed with dementia. The family was heartbroken to watch someone they loved endure such an illness, and they considered themselves fortunate that they could keep her at home until the very end. She died on the 17th April 2025, one day before Gloria and Jeff’s 33rd wedding anniversary.

Gloria was an original member of the Forget-me-not Memory Café and came most weeks, with her husband Jeff or daughter Caroline. As a family they became integral to the café—Jeff singing for us at gatherings for afternoon tea, and Caroline joining the cake baking rota. Gloria had a lovely smile, sometimes angelic, sometimes decidedly wicked, and despite her dementia her character shone through. We all loved her and will remember her fondly as part of our memory café family.