There used to be a DBE Chapter in the Palm Beach Gardens area called “Queen Mary”. It was founded in 1995 and was very active until around 2007 when it disbanded. I had the honor of being the chapter Regent a number of times and, when the chapter disbanded, the members continued to meet once a month for lunch in a local Irish pub.
One of our members was a lady called Anne McKendrick. Anne was not only a beautiful woman but was kindness itself, always thinking of others and she would take some of our older members under her wing as they found it difficult to manage on their own. It was quite usual, when we met as a group, for John and Anne’s car to pull up and a batch of elderly ladies would be helped to step out and enjoy the fun.
When Anne was a young woman she trained as an actress and singer and appeared with many celebrities on shows and in films. She never boasted about her career but, sometimes, we were able to winkle information out of her and she had many great stories to tell.
I think my personal favorite is the one about Fagin’s beard and it goes like this. Anne had a part in the chorus in the musical film of “Oliver.” She became quite friendly with the actor Ron Moody, who played the part of Fagin, and I suspect he had something of a soft spot for her. One day during filming, they were having lunch in the studio canteen when Ron noticed that Anne was eating a sweet. Ron teased her about it, and she playfully teased him back by giving his long, straggly beard a gentle tug—only to accidentally pull the entire beard off! It took almost three hours in the Make Up dept. for the beard to be reattached and Anne admitted that anyone else would certainly have been fired but Ron would not have it so she kept her job (just!)
Anne was so sweet that I doubt anybody could lose their temper with her and we were all very fond of her. Sadly, as she grew older, she developed dementia and passed away in 2022.
Her devoted husband and caregiver, John, recognizes how much DBE meant to Anne. In the 1980s she joined the Godolphin Chapter in New Orleans and then transferred to Queen Mary when they moved to Florida. Therefore, in her memory, he has made a number of donations to our Cause. These were originally passed along to Mountbatten House but, when that closed, he and I talked about LovExtension which our Mount Dora chapter (Queen Mary 2) is now supporting. He feels sure that Anne would really love the idea of helping this Organization which delivers food and other supplies to elderly people who are on a low income and he has sent us a donation for them.
On Wednesday, October 8th Chris Fattibene (Regent of Queen Mary 2) and I took the donation to LovExtension and presented it to Linda Krupski and her sister Nancy Hartkop who founded and run the Organization.
The members of DBE in Florida are delighted that John is supporting us as he does. Anne was a very special person and John is keeping her memory alive. She was a dear and generous friend.
Claire Fairclough, FL State President
