INVOLVED in so many parts of Bow village life, Una Hobbs died last month aged 89.  A celebration of her life was held at Bow Church on April 14.  The service was conducted by the Rev Preb Anthony Geering. 

He said Una was “small but dynamic” and was involved in many parts of Bow. With her sister Avril, Una began Bow Cub Scouts which she led for 25 years and was a founder member of Bow Twinning.

Village activities in which she was involved included the Mothers’ Union, Bow Sewing Circle, Bow Quilters and the Garden Club.  She also had pen friends in Australia and America.  Tom and Una twice visited America in the 1980s.

Una had been born in Wolverhampton in 1934.  The family moved to South London and then, with her two sisters and a brother, they were evacuated to Devon on the outbreak of war.  They lived first near Down St Mary and then moved to Godfreys Gardens in Bow. 

Una met and married local lad Tom Hobbs and after a short time living in the village, they moved to Landsend Cottages near Bow where Una lived for the next 67 years. 

They had two sons, Jonathan and Adrian.  For the first few years, being without a car, the family went everywhere by bike.  

In the eulogy read by Robert Castle but written by Jonathan and Adrian, they said that after buying a car and passing her driving test, Una did an evening secretarial course and worked full-time for, among others, BabyChic, Crediton Refrigeration Company and Mid Devon Coaches, making lifelong friends.

Their large garden became Tom and Una’s passion, many of the flowers grown there used to decorate the church, for which Una organised the flower rota and countless times decorating it for family and friends’ weddings. 

Donations made at the service went to Bow Church in memory of Una.  She was buried in the cemetery opposite the church.