A FORMER Colchester mayoress has been remembered following her death at the age of 96.

Mamie Lampon of West Bergholt, was married for 54 years to John Lampon, a former parish and town councillor who served as mayor of Colchester from 1987 to 1988.

Mamie was born in Tunbridge Wells in 1927 and met her future husband at a tennis club.

The two got married in 1949, but it came with a certain condition.

Mr Lampon had been serving as an officer in India in 1944 and was due to be posted to Korea later that year.

Given the circumstances, the then Miss Inns told Mr Lampon she would not marry him until he returned from that posting.

He decided to resign his commission, and that, to both their delight, was that.

The two moved into a house in Dugard Avenue, Colchester, before settling in Albany Road, West Bergholt.

Children had never been a particular ambition for Mr and Mrs Lampon, but when their one and only daughter, Ann, arrived out of the blue in 1958, both were absolutely committed to raising her in a warm and loving household.

Mrs Lampon’s cousin, Jim Norris, recalled she was generous and caring when he hitchhiked a 250-mile journey from Formby to West Bergholt – a part of England he found rather more upmarket than his native Merseyside.

He said: “I used to hitchhike from Formby – you could in those days – to stay with the Lampons and was treated royally.

“They were so kind, and nothing was too much trouble – my cousin Ann was great fun to play with, the countryside was beautiful, and Colchester seemed so posh.”

Mr Lampon, meanwhile, embodied community spirit and was a pillar in the civic life of the town, as Colchester was then, and went on to become mayor in 1987.

An attendant at the mayoral inauguration, Mr Norris said it was an honour to be a part of the occasion.

“Jan, my wife, and I were invited to Mr Lampon’s inauguration with my mum and younger brother Peter – it was an honour for us, as was the Oyster Feast sometime later.”

Whilst Mr Lampon worked for Paxman Diesels in Colchester and latterly became an alderman, Mrs Lampon invested her caring nature in supporting autistic children, volunteering for some 17 years despite having only put herself forward for a six-month stint

Her dedication was a testament to someone who was, quite simply, a giver.

After Mr Lampon died in 2003, life became more difficult for Mrs Lampon, but she lived to the age of 96 and enjoyed a close and loving relationship with her daughter, Ann Cawley, also of West Bergholt.

Mr Norris continued: “She was the kindest, most thoughtful relation one could wish for and will be forever in my heart.

“May she rest in peace.”

Mrs Lampon will be remembered at a funeral service at Colchester crematorium on Wednesday, February 7, at 12.15pm.