Birth date: Nov 17, 1935 Death date: Nov 15, 2024
Maureen Berry, 88, of Leesburg, Florida, peacefully passed away on November 15, 2024. Born Maureen Mary Lafferty on November 17, 1935, in Christchurch, New Zealand, Maureen possessed a vibrant spirit, a love for song and dance. A Read Obituary
Dear Aunty Maureen I have thought of you lots, you have returned home now and are at peace, sending love and prayers to your family xoxo
Will always remember the time Alvin Maureen and Bob ani I went out for dinner. Maureen had a pink swath of hair and the waitress commented that it was very becoming , with her failing eyesight she had picked up a tube of lipstick instead of hair cream.. It was before the rage now of pink hair.
More from Aunty Kath:
She had a gift for organizing things as well. She came back from Australia due a visit and decided to throw a school reunion. She organized the entire thing herself, it was a smash hit, a massive crowd turned up and they had a great night, Bev was there as well, as it was her old school too.
Bev and Maureen did grow up together, they were four years apart, Mum was working, so Bev had to babysit us a lot, they were pretty capable young girls.
Our father, Jack Lafferty wasn't around when I was a child, Mum and he had separated when I was on the way. He wasn't all that nice to any of us except Maureen, she could do no wrong.
Jack had been raised a Catholic, he got Sentimental about his religion when he'd had a few drinks, one night he came home with a religious statue, telling Mum it was Joseph and to look after it, the children were not to play with it.
Maureen picked it up one day, she dropped it, it broke into many pieces, Mum was worried as she knew Jack would be very angry.
He came home, Mum explained that Maureen had broken his statue, they were all worried, but Jack took one look at Maureen and said 'It was an accident, don't worry, Maureen. If it had been the other two things would have been very different. He always did have a study spot for Maureen.
Maureen could design clothes as well, she came over here for a visit, she'd designed bikinis for girls, she went to the local school asking for models, was inundated with kids wanting five minutes of fame. She even got on to the front page of the city paper, she made such an impact on everyone.
We did miss Maureen, but she did have itchy feet, she was a traveler, she still came back to New Zealand when she could, we were always happy to see her, and she always made a fuss of us.
If Maureen had been born overseas she could easily have become famous, she had the looks, the talent, and a driving force, she could easily have become a business magnate, or anything she wanted to do as she was so bright.
Mum and Dad were in their local pub when Maureen came in with two Dutch lads she'd met, they both had motorbikes, Hubie said he'd teach her how to ride one, before he could finish his sentence, Maureen jumped on his bike, turned it on and zoomed away into the sunset, without permission.
She didn't need any lessons, Hubie was so worried that she would be injured, they all sat there in trepidation, half an hour later, Maureen waltzed up on the bike, thanked Hubie and sat down as though nothing had happened.
Hubie became a lovely family friend, but Maureen was more interested in going to Sydney than riding Hubie's bike.
Maureen was so well dressed for the parties, she had a grey, sleeveless satin dress with a fuschia cummerbund, her hair was always tied back into a bun. She was well dressed her whole life, had an innate sense of fashion.
In 2007 I was in the US with my best friend, Linda, we'd traveled down the coast from New York on a train through Pennsylvania, the Caroline's, then I rang Maureen asking if we could stay with her and Al for a couple of nights. They made us so welcome which was very nice considering they didn't even know Linda, but we all enjoyed each other's company.
She took us to a local market, shopping in a mall, where she bought my brand new grandson some clothes, very kind.
She introduced us to Cool Whip, I loved it, no calories, it tasted great, but couldn't get it back home.
Every time Maureen returned to NZ she wouldn't stay in one place, she went up and down both islands, staying with relatives, even in later life she did the same, both she and Bev world stay with relations.
She was an excellent tap dancer as well as Bev, Mum made all their costumes, Johnny and I went to all their competitions for tap dancing, Bev and Maureen loved it.
Stories and thoughts from Aunty Kath:
Maureen was very talented, she could sing, dance, and she had a real sense of fashion.
She left New Zealand when she was 18,went to Sydney where she nursed for a while then went back to her job as a stenographer.
She was really bright, could speak and write Greek fluently, she was very attractive as a young woman, lovely small figure and very attractive features, I noticed as she aged she liked more and more like Mum, the blue eyes, etc.
She had a sense of humour as well, she always dressed to the nines, and didn't care if other people were old fashioned, she never was. She was walking down the main street of Christchurch, which was a small town of approx 250,000 people. Most people on those days were very conservatively dressed but not Maureen, she always made a statement. Town was crowded and Maureen was sporting a very large hat with a feather about two feet long. Mum and Maureen stopped at a pedestrian crossing where someone pointed at her and laughed, Maureen walked up to the person laughing, bowed, deeply and doffed her hat like Errol Flynn did in the Robin Hood movies. Everybody burst out laughing, Mum said it was so funny.
Another time she visited us from Sydney, dressed in such a fashionable strapless dress with a stole wrapped round her shoulders. I was only about 12 at the time, was deeply embarrassed as we were walking through the middle of the city and people were stopped in their tracks. I walked behind her, like a dozy kid, she kept turning around saying
'Kathy, what are you doing back there, come here.'
Looking back, she was like a movie star at a little one horse place, she created a sensation.
When Johnny and I were kids and Maureen was still living at home, she taught herself to play the guitar, unfortunately she played one tune over and over again, it was Old Shep, a song about a dog that died. At first Johnny and I cried, it was so sad, but after hearing it repeatedly the novelty wore off and we laughed. Poor Maureen, we were a bit naughty sometimes.
Johnny and I went to Magic show at a local hall, they were seeking fake soot, we knew Maureen was singing on stage that night at the local movie theatre so E thought we'd play a trick on her.
She'd made a beautiful dress, it was peach with purple flowers on it, sounds awful but it was fabulous, a lovely full skirt with sweetheart bodice. We crept into Maureen's room, they're the dress layover a chair, we covered it with soot, the door opened and there stood Maureen. She was so angry, 'how could we ruin her dress!' 'you two are terrible, what an I going to wear tonight?' we tried to tell her it was only fake soot, she finally realised that everything was okay. She liked like a million dollars in that dress,she sang on the stage, impressed all the locals, and us, of course.
A true blessing and servant of God. I am sure she is singing with the angels. Until we meet again and thanks for the love shown.
