Winifred Walsh Lomas

Winifred Walsh Lomas

By: Granddaughter Danielle Hopkins Johnson

Winifred was born on 28^th September 1911 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, England. Her parents were Martin Walsh and Louie Risely. Martin was a Irish Catholic (his father was born in Ireland) and Louis was a member of the LDS church. When Winifred was born she lived with her parents at 42 Victoria Street in Radcliffe with her Risely grandparents. Her father was a laborer at the Foundry when she was born.

When Winifred was just three years old her father died of Tuberculosis. He was around 26 years old at the time. At this time in her life her mother left her in the care of grandma Risely (Isabella). Louie went to work and found herself another husband. She married William Francis in 1917. There is a story about how Louie went to retrieve Winifred from her mother after she married. Grandma Risely got in an argument over it with her. My speculation is that Louie wouldn't be raising Winifred in the LDS church and Grandma Risely didn't like that. The argument ended with Grandma Risely chasing Louie out of the house with a frying pan. Winifred would remain with Grandma and Grandpa Risely and was raised there. She did have a relationship with her mother and stepfather.

Winifred met and fell in love with George Lomas. They were married on September 26, 1931 in Bury, Lancashire, England. They had the first child Doreen on 17 August 1932. They had twelve more children (in order): George, Joyce, Dennis, Prudence Annie, June Ivy, Dennis, Joan Ann, David Noal, Ruth, Lorraine and Charles Eber. Both Dennis' and Charles Eber both died in infancy. They were very poor. Winifred stayed home and took care of the children best she could.

George passed away in 1967 in Radcliffe. This left Winifred a widow for many years. She got through this time by remaining active in the LDS church and staying close to her children. She would travel to see George and David who moved to Australia and to see June and Doreen who both moved to the United States.

When she was 75 years old she came to live in the US with June and her family. Shortly after it was discovered she had uterine cancer. She went into the hospital in February of 1987 and never came out. She had many complications that lead to her death on March 13, 1987 in Tacoma, Washington. She was buried in a Hopkins family plot in Tetonia, Teton, Idaho, in the US.

She was a very charismatic woman. She had her share of hardships. She was always happy. She was a very determined woman and had a sense of humor that would make anyone laugh! She was loved greatly by her children and grandchildren and is very missed!