Dawn was an extremely hard worker all her life. Some of her early jobs included tending to Dr Aiden Holmes, the Walmsley family and working at the Yass Hospital. As a young lady she would go to the shearing shed and cook for her dad; a love of the sheds stayed with her and was something she enjoyed throughout her life.

Another of Dawn's great loves was a man named Colin Jones. They married on February 8 1947. They chose to make Murrumbateman their home. Here they started a family and ran the local post office. They ran the post office for 38 years and it was rumoured during that time that Dawn never once said no to anyone who wanted to collect their post after hours, even on the weekends and at night time. I have fond memories of heading out to Nana and Poppy's post office, sitting on the big wooden bench and being covered in the old ink date stamp.

Dawn and Colin had six children: Wendy, Wayne, Christine, Malcolm and Lester (twins) and Peter being the youngest. They also had 14 grandchildren and later 10 great-grandchildren. Family was very important to Dawn, she loved having her family near her, especially to cook them all a big baked dinner on Christmas Day.

One of Dawn's greatest pleasures was to cook. Over the years she made numerous fruit cakes, including all of her children's wedding cakes and countless birthday cakes, all of which were no doubt delicious. Dawn also made a lot of jams and preserves with the car loads of apples, peaches and quinces that Colin would bring home. Dawn did go crook every so often about having to cook them all and decide to throw some out, only then to get into trouble for wasting it.

Dawn enjoyed attending all the local happenings at Murrumbateman. She was a member of the Murrumbateman Public School P & C and a keen helper in any way for all the local functions held in the hall. She would go and play cards at the hall, go dancing with Colin, play tennis and take all the kids piled in the old blue and white FC station wagon to the wool-shed dances. When the kids weren't doing as they were told Dawn would get out her favorite smacking stick, a piece of green willow that I heard from the boys used to sting a lot!

Another family outing they all enjoyed was Sundays at her father's place, 'Edgerton'. They would arrive early for a day of stories and meals by tilly lights. Dawn would help her father and especially loved to be there at charf cutting time to cook for all the men and kids.

Occasional holidays to the coast were another of Dawn's joys, that is after she got over the car sickness. Dawn could not stand to be on the side of the car closest to the edge, insisting on swapping sides until safely at the bottom of the mountain.

Dawn and Colin had a few acres at Murrumbateman. They had sheep and milking cows. Dawn used to milk the cows when Colin was away, and then use the milk to make butter and cream. This was then used to top her famous homemade scones and pikelets.

After all those years at the Murrumbateman post office, Dawn and Colin retired and moved into Cliff Street, Yass. In town, Dawn had her garden which she loved to tend to and pick flowers to have in the house. She also had her grandchildren over for lots of sleepovers. Once retired, Dawn also helped her children on their various farms. At shearing time she would skirt the bellies, sweep the floor and press the bales. On one occasion she was pressing using a lyco press. After having finished pressing the 200 kilograms of wool she noticed her glasses were missing. They were found in perfect knick at the bottom of the bale. They must have gone in the first armful. She was so happy when she spotted them.

I remember being little and wearing my red jumper, hand-knitted by Nana of course, and being tucked into the wool bins by her with my bottle to have a sleep.

Dawn was an excellent knitter and sewer. She would collect crossbred wool from various properties then head home to spin the wool on her wheel. She would create an assortment of beanies, jumpers, vests and tea cosies for her family. Sometimes in a rush, pop would grab a beanie which would turn out to be a tea cosy by mistake. I would not like to venture a guess at how many pairs of socks Dawn darned in her life but I bet she would have liked a penny for each one.

After nearly 50 years of marriage, Dawn lost Colin only two days shy of what would have been their golden anniversary.

Dawn continued to live at home on her own until ill health meant assistance was needed. The home in Cliff Street was sold and Dawn moved into Linton Village. Once in Linton, Dawn still liked to go on outings; trips to help at the family's farms remained one of her favorite things to do. Dawn called Linton Village home for over 13 years, having some lovely friends, including Gwen, and making chit chat with all the staff. As time went on Dawn's memory faded but she always had a smile for you and had stories of her early days at 'Edgerton' with her brothers Keith and George.

Dawn passed away aged 87 on Saturday January 21 in the company of her loving family at Linton. One thing is for certain, even though Dawn has passed away and left us all behind here, we will never forget her. A beautiful, gentle, kind-hearted lady whom we all shared so many happy times with and who made memories that we will always cherish.

We miss you every day and love you very much Nana.