A TOUCHING ceremony was held at Picassos to commemorate the life of Marie Warner, a prominent member of Bexhill’s deaf community.
A permanent plaque was attached to the bench outside Marie’s regular haunt, Picasso in Devonshire Road, with members of her friends and family in attendance for the unveiling before enjoying coffees and sharing their reminiscences.
Her good friend Marigold Connolly said: “She was a quite remarkable woman and will be sorely missed by all those who knew her.
“Marie was a pillar of the community and much loved by all those who came to know her. We were blessed by her company.”
Few people are born one of five sisters and fewer still can claim that all five were born congenitally deaf.
Yet Marie, who lived in Linden Road, Bexhill, for 40 years before her passing, led a quite extraordinary life.
Growing up in West Hampstead, London, the fourth daughter of a boot-maker father and seamstress mother who were also both deaf from birth Marie lived through the Great Depression, the Blitz, evacuation, and the post-war boom years before settling in Hastings, where she owned and managed guest houses until her long retirement in Bexhill.
She soon became well-known in the deaf community as a charismatic and attractively presented figure, always with a story to tell about her adventures both at home and abroad.
For the local hearing community, Marie was instantly recognisable as the “deaf lady”, who might require a few extra moments to transact her business or complete her shopping, but for whom patience would invariably be rewarded with a gracious smile and generous word of thanks.
Marie was a regular at St Wilfred’s and deaf-chorister. Marie also enjoyed long lunches with friends and family at her favourite Devonshire Road restaurants, including Trattoria Italiana and Picasso Express, both venues that became a home for Bexhill’s Deaf community to gather and chat about life in town and the world beyond.
Everyone who gathered to commemorate her life had a plethora of stories to share and agreed the much-loved member of the community would be sorely missed.
The plaque was unveiled on April 16 on the bench where she spent so many happy hours observing what was going on.
It now acts as a permanent reminder of Marie’s long association with the town and her deep affection for its residents.
