Tributes paid to 'no-nonsense' nanny who enjoyed a cigarette and gin and tonic until the end

Tributes have been paid to a ‘no-nonense’ Rugby nanny who has died aged 94.

Olivia Durrance, who was a nanny for 54 years, died peacefully in her sleep last month.

Mim Hain was one of four children Olivia took care of.

She said: “She was our lifelong precious ‘Nan’ who came to us in Cobham, Surrey, when she was just 16.

“Nan had an incredible sense of humour, she was a great cook and she enjoyed a cigarette and a gin and tonic until the end.”

Originally from Melton Mowbray, Olivia, who never married, moved back to Rugby to be in her own home for the first time 20 years ago.

She worked at the British Heart Foundation in the town centre and once took on a robber.

Mim said: “A man once went into the shop and demanded the till. She refused to hand it over; that was the type of woman she was. Nan was later offered counselling because of the incident which she flatly refused. That summed her up. Nan didn’t take any nonsense. She was very old school.”

Mim said when Olivia was their nanny, the young children thought there was a ghost in the house.

"We called the ghost Charles. I once asked Nan what she would do if she saw the ghost and she said she’d asked it to make itself useful and help her with the washing up!”

While in Rugby, Olivia had many hobbies including line dancing, cooking and computers.

“She was a remarkable woman who will be missed by everyone who knew her.”

She leaves sister, Norma, who still lives in Rugby.

Olivia’s private funeral/cremation takes place in Rugby on January 10. Donations in lieu of flowers please at her request to the Edward Hain Centre (registered charity no. 1200936), Albany Terrace, St. Ives TR26 2BS, Cornwall, or online via Charities Aid Foundation at cafdonate.cafonline.org/24109