Family remembers 'glamorous' centenarian of well-known Maidenhead shop

The family of a ‘glamorous’ centenarian have paid tribute to her long life inspired by the movies.

After five years at Boulters Lock Residential Care Home, Lila Dear passed away last month, shortly after celebrating her milestone birthday with a Hollywood-themed party.

Lila was born in Balham, London in August 1924 and spent most of her childhood in Ryde, Isle of Wight, before her family relocated to Maidenhead after World War II.

During her 74 years in the town, Lila worked at Tinkers newsagents near St Marks Crescent where she used to pump petrol and paraffin for nearly 20 years.

Her niece, Pam Swift told the Advertiser: “She loved people, but she was a glamorous woman, and it wasn’t exactly her idea of fun to be pumping petrol for people, but it was what you had to do in those days.”

Pam shared a ‘close relationship’ with Lila having lived around the corner through most of her childhood and spoke highly of her aunt’s ‘glamorous’ looks.

“She was always dressed up – a very gregarious and outgoing person,” said Pam.

“She used to wear high heels, had painted nails and wore a full face of makeup – she always looked absolutely beautiful. She definitely didn’t look 100 years old.

“She looked like a movie star, and I thought she was when I was little.

“She knew all the movie stars of the day because she was obsessed with Hollywood.”

Maidenhead during the 1950s was a ‘bit like the French Riviera in Berkshire’ said Pam because film stars lived locally, drove American cars and filmed at Bray and Pinewood studios.

“It was an amazing bustling town,” she added.

“It was the place to be with Skindles. The stars of the day would be seen out and about in the town centre, so Lila loved that.

“I think that’s one of the reasons why she stuck around for so long. It was a place where she could still make those connections."

Pictured: Lila Dear at the age of 16.

As a teenager, Lila worked as an usher at the Odeon cinema in Ryde and being an avid Clark Gable fan, had watched Gone with the Wind more than 100 times.

“She had an encyclopaedic knowledge when it came to that,” said Pam, adding that Lila named her house 'Tara' after the fictional plantation in the film.

Lila was a ‘total incurable romantic' and married her ‘one true love’ Tommy Dear with whom she had a son Perry in 1952.

Tommy died suddenly in 1979, which Lila was ‘completely devastated by but somehow managed to pull through’.

“It was tragic,” added Pam.

“She’s been on her own since 1979 and that’s a long time to have lived without her partner. She’s been reunited with him now in Braywick Lawn Cemetery.”

Being a member of the League of Health and Beauty and keeping ‘incredibly fit’ by dancing and doing yoga into her late eighties helped her through difficult times and even allowed her to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

“She loved disco,” said Pam.

“When we played Staying Alive by the Bee Gees at her funeral last week, a rainbow appeared over her coffin. It was like she was dancing; the timing was pretty brilliant.”

Lila also loved gardening and was an ‘incredible garden designer’, added Pam.

“She would have made the most amazing career out of it if that had been a thing for women of her time.

“She had come from the Land Army and was planting potatoes in a field in Ryde to support the war effort and I think she got a kick out of seeing it grow.

“She was totally green-fingered – it was quite the talent.”

Lila even customised her ‘unglamorous’ Land Army girl outfit by cutting off the trousers to hot pant length and wore a full face of makeup.

“Even in the care home, we colour-coordinated her outfits with her accessories so that she always looked beautiful," said Pam.

"For her, it was a big thing and made her feel good. That was all part of her life."

Lila’s extended family spans Canada, the Isle of Wight and Maidenhead, and they have all adopted her catchphrase: ‘Lose your sense of humour and you’ll be in trouble’.

“It was a very long life and she touched many people,” said Pam.

“Her life would make a brilliant film about women and the struggles of someone with a strong personality when society says you can’t have that.

“I’ve never known anybody with so many close women friends. I always felt that everybody fell a little bit in love with her when they met her."