‘Infectiously positive’ West Sussex Deputy Lieutenant dies aged 92

Retired West Sussex Deputy Lieutenant and former magistrate Iona Wake-Walker will be remembered for her energic enthusiasm and infectiously positive attitude.
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She and her late husband Cedric Wake-Walker lived in Rogate for more than 50 years, and she was a big part of village life.

Mrs Wake-Walker had been at Augusta Court care home in Chichester since last year and died on Sunday, August 9, aged 92.

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Son Edward Wake-Walker said: “She will be remembered for her energic enthusiasm for all that she encountered in life, an infectiously positive attitude that never left her.

Iona Wake-Walker lived in Rogate for more than 50 yearsIona Wake-Walker lived in Rogate for more than 50 years
Iona Wake-Walker lived in Rogate for more than 50 years

“Although she worked as a secretary at King Edward VII’s Hospital, near Midhurst, for a period of her married life, it was in her voluntary work that she found particular fulfilment.

“She ran a vibrant Sunday School at Rogate Church for many years and published two volumes of her own hymns, many of which are still sung today.

“As a long-serving JP, she rose to become chairman of the bench at Chichester. She was awarded the MBE and became a Deputy Lieutenant in recognition of her contribution to the church and bench.

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“She was a devoted mother and loved everything to do with family and had a winning way with young children. She was highly musical and loved to sing and play the piano and listen to music. She also loved to dance and was eagerly capable of an eightsome reel late into her 80s.”

Iona Wake-Walker when she was chairman of the Chichester benchIona Wake-Walker when she was chairman of the Chichester bench
Iona Wake-Walker when she was chairman of the Chichester bench

Born Margaret Iona Letitia Maclean at Beaulieu on June 22, 1928, she was the eldest of four daughters of John (Sandy) and Margaret Maclean.

Most of her childhood was spent at the family home, Copse Cottage, near Wickham in Hampshire. She was educated at Rookesbury Park School in Hampshire and St Mary’s School, Calne, Wiltshire.

After school, she trained as a secretary and typist, and worked for various clergy, first in Edinburgh, then at Mompesson House in Salisbury.

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Cedric, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and Iona were married on April 20, 1949, and she then led the life of a naval wife.

The couple lived in Gibraltar and Malta during Cedric’s postings and had three children, Susanna, Edward and Corinna, known as Cinty.

In 1953, Mr and Mrs Wake-Walker bought the house Terwick Wood in Rogate, ten years before he left the navy. They lived there for more than 50 years, before moving to Bemerton, near Salisbury in 2007.

She loved poetry, both reading and writing it, and appreciated literature in general, running a successful book club at Terwick Wood for several years.

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Mrs Wake-Walker was a long-standing member of Rogate Choral Society and a school governor at Rogate Primary School.

She was also an avid games and sports player, with tennis, ping-pong, garden croquet and badminton being particular favourites.

She loved the sea, especially in Cornwall, where she would surf at every opportunity, and was also a prolific knitter, sewer and embroiderer.

Cedric died on May 22, 2013, aged 89 and Mrs Wake-Walker moved to Willow Lodge care home, near Emsworth, in 2016, before transferring to Augusta Court.

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Her mother, the former Margaret Isabel Randolph, was descended from the Nepean baronets and she was a maternal aunt of the actor Hugh Grant.

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