In Memoriam | 37
Pamela Cripps nee Mulligan
BIOLOGY AND MATHS , CLASS OF 1984
Written by her dear friend and fellow alumna , Elizabeth Romaine nee Dodds ( Geography and Psychology , Cert Ed , Class of 1984 ).
Pam came to Keele in 1981 , she lived in Harrowby which was part of Lindsey Halls .
She was an active member of the Keele Christian Union ( KCU ) and was one of their publicity officers . She was a fun-loving student and made many lifelong friends . She enjoyed playing basketball and organised a “ friends ” team . After graduating she went to the University of East Anglia and completed a PGCE .
She was born on a snowy Christmas Day in 1962 and was brought up in Purley , near Croydon South London , and was the youngest of 3 siblings .
Her main career was in teaching , devoting nearly 35 years to Primary Education . She was a great educator . In 1991 , she joined a teacher exchange programme and taught in Australia for a year . She lived and worked for a time in Sudbury & Braintree in Suffolk and then she moved to Brighton and then onto Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill in West Sussex .
Her last teaching position was a headteacher of a large primary school in Haywards Heath . When she retired from her headship , she started maths tutoring for adults and exam invigilation for GCSEs until she became ill with bile duct cancer in 2019 .
She lived for many years in Shoreham by Sea in West Sussex . She was part of the leadership team of Shoreham free church .
Pam loved travelling and had many holidays abroad including China , Switzerland , Canada , Malta , The Netherlands , Ireland and Italy .
In 2013 , she married Anthony Cripps and had a very happy seven-year marriage . She was a very warm-hearted , caring , helpful and friendly person with a great sense of humour , enjoying a good laugh . She embraced life to the full and had a strong Christian faith . Her hobbies included photography , letter writing , card making and water colour painting .
Pam fought her illness very bravely and was very positive right till the end . She will be greatly missed by all who knew her .
Rev David Lewis ( Keele , Class of 1985 ) said : “ Pam brought such beauty , faithfulness , hope , integrity & love into the world & her light shone all too briefly , but boy it shone with such radiance .”