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Mary Wheildon

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Mary was a St Mary's priory pupil from 1956 to 1961, and lives in Kineton.

She left St Mary's to go to Winkfield, Cordon Bleu school before cooking at The Charlecote Pheasant for five years, followed by two years in Virginia Beach & West Palm Beach, Florida as Assistant Manager & Maitre d’Hotel. She returned to Kineton to open a Garden and Flower shop which was a great success for 30 years before she sold the business and retired.

Mary says:

“Retiring is a mirage – I have been busy ever since assisting friends in many different and most interesting ways. Helping a fellow Interflora florist in Guernsey at critical times, taking those skills to Europe and USA when required, helping out at Auctions & continuing for a while with the Master Classes I started within the shop.

“I have loved travelling since the age of seven, all continents have been visited in one way or another; since retiring I have been able to travel for longer periods meeting up with Old St Mary’s Priory pupils in far flung locations – what a joy!

“Although now heavily involved with Warwickshire Women’s Bowls Association, I will become its President next year; I am however, still playing plenty of tennis which I so enjoyed at Princethorpe, sometimes with one of my classmates – we laugh together and congratulate ourselves, some 60 years on!

“I am so pleased to be in contact with many of the St Mary’s Priory pupils and am therefore very happy to see the integration of these VSOPs into the successful Old Princethorpian family.”