Popular local woman Steve Weekes remembered

Steve Weekes, of Shaw Hill, Melksham, sadly passed away on Thursday 8th January following her valiant battle with cancer. She was surrounded by her family.

Steve moved to Melksham, in 1977, with her husband Ivan and two young children and soon began to make an impression on all of those people who were lucky enough and privileged enough to meet her.

Two more children came along in 1978 and 1980. Steve, as well as renovating the family home decided to take a childcare qualification and soon began to run the local baby and toddler group.

For those of us who knew Steve, we will remember her relentless energy, support and faithfulness. Unlike most of us, who have a germ of an idea, and then ignore it, Steve acted on every idea that she had and developed a variety of businesses during the next 30 years.

She renovated all of the houses that she moved into, learning any skill that was needed, and thought nothing of working all day and going to evening classes to learn upholstery or any other skill that was required.

Many Melksham parents will remember ‘It’s a Snip’ and ‘Childstyle’ her two successful shops situated in the Market Place. Steve could sell snow to Eskimos and sand to Bedouin Arabs, and I recall greeting my wife with incredulity as she appeared with yet another outfit for our children!! Steve and her business partner Barbara will now be up in Heaven selling feathers to angels.

In 1990 Steve decided to sell Childstyle, and whilst some would sit back and relax Steve went back to college and took an Access to Science course and successfully won a place at Bath Spa University to study Environmental Studies. At the same time renovating both another property in Broughton Gifford and France.

Steve took an administration qualification and took a job at Downside School in Somerset and later became the office manager at George Ward School. In the meantime Steve was planning and scheming, and as well as her day job she was renovating one of the beautiful Spa Houses and succeeded in bringing the property back to its former style and grace, AND creating a successful interior design business along the way.

Upon becoming a grandmother, and probably the best grandmother in the world, Steve continued to develop her ideas and recognised that recycling and ‘up-cycling’ were at the cutting edge of the textile world. Steve began to develop her range of ‘Beaubags’, made out of recycled material, developed a website and travelled the country attending craft fairs and markets. Whilst most of us were still sleeping, Steve was busy selling, creating and planning!!

In 2010 Steve began to extend her recycling business acumen and developed ‘Texworks’ and ran a range of successful classes firstly in Bowerhill and later at Bowden Hill, Lacock to enable others to benefit from her expertise and to update and create their own designs without spending a fortune.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this tribute to Steve Weekes, she was noted for her energy, support and faithfulness, but all of us will have been touched by her presence, her ability to support others instead of focusing solely on herself and always, always ensuring that others were happy and content before herself.

At the Celebration of her life over 200 guests heard tributes from her family and friends and a single word resonated above all of the others. That word was ‘Steveness’, and everybody who was there, and who knew Steve will recognise that she had a special way of linking people together and watching as the links grew and friendships were born. We would all be best served to develop our own Steveness!

Ivan, Scott, Mathieu, Jules and Steph have lost a wonderful wife and mother, and I would suggest that Melksham has lost one of the most inspirational and beautiful people that has graced the town.

For those people who knew Steve, and perhaps those who are inspired by this tribute there is a justgiving link to donate to the Forever Friends appeal at the Royal United Hospital in aid of a new Oncology unit. Please make any donations, in memory of Steve Weekes to:   www. justgiving.com/forever friends