Dorothy May Kinsey (nee Ralphs) was born on 5th July 1913 in Shropshire the third child, having an elder brother and sister and a younger sister and brother.
Dorothy left school at 14 and looked after her Grandma for a period of time. During the war she worked for the Navy in Shropshire and during that time met her husband Norman Owen Kinsey a Welshman who was a dog handler in the Military Police.
They married in 1940 and lived in Roden, where Norman worked for CWS Nurseries as a Tomato grower. In 1953 Norman was offered promotion to Foreman but the couple would have to move to the North East CWS Nurseries at Merrybent.
They decided it was a golden opportunity and when her first child started school Dorothy also worked part time at the CWS packing cucumbers earning the name of “Champion Cucumber Packer.” In those days they were not all uniform in shape so 12 cucumbers had to fit in each box to go on to restaurants and wholesale suppliers.
She also graded tomatoes on a conveyer belt and when they introduced flower growing Dorothy also planted seedlings.
She enjoyed cooking, gardening and knitting cardigans, jumpers, teacosies. She joined the WI at High Coniscliffe and enjoyed amateur dramatics.
Norman died suddenly in 1978 and in 1979 Dorothy moved into a house in Shafto Way, Newton Aycliffe.
In May this year she fell and broke her hip and had to give up her home and move into Feryemount, Care Home at Ferryhill where she is receiving the best of care including a celebration birthday party. The Mayors of Ferryhill and Newton Aycliffe were in attendance.
Photo: courtesy Ferryhill Chapter
