Important Upcoming Events & Notices

Vale Mrs Prue Oldham

As the Endeavour Forum Newsletter went to press in March, we learned of the passing of another hero of the Endeavour Forum story in Mrs Prudence Gillian Oldham (née Caudwell), who for decades, and until recently, was Babette Francis's mainstay in much of the organisation.

As treasurer, she kept the ship afloat financially and was the first point of contact for our supporters in Australia. It seems that it takes three of us now to carry out the tasks which she had performed by hand, declaring that it was too late to shift to computers for the meticulous records which she kept of our supporters and generous donors.

In the eulogy delivered by one of her sons after her funeral, we heard of the piles of pi ank paper which deluged the family home every time that the newsletters for the original Women Who Want to be Women organisation — later to be renamed Endeavour Forum — were collated, addressed and mailed by his mother over so many years. As one of her successors, the writer of this obituary concurs with her son that she was an unsung hero, who deserved far more credit than she received. Even at the regular Endeavour Forum gatherings to hear prominent speakers and honour recipients of awards, she always chose a backstage role.

Prue died at 87 after a painful illness, during which she nonetheless continued to go about her life, with family and friends, and especially the practice of her Faith and her love of the Latin Mass.

As a child of the 1930s Depression, she was made of sterner stuff than most. Prue and her husband Norman, whom she married in 1954, raised nine children in their home in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Beaumaris, and gave them a real family upbringing, with a house full of music and, of course, encouragement to play sport. She had a lovely singing voice herself and was a fine tennis player, also giving her children unobtrusive support in all of their sporting activities.

In later years she developed a love of travel and was able to indulge in a visit to Lourdes, a major Catholic pilgrimage site in south-west France, and even a trip to Russia for a family wedding. At the small get-together after her funeral Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton, a collage of photographs was on display, in which travel was a major theme.

Among other celebrated scenes, a shot of Prue at the Kremlin seemed to take pride of place, and the whole collection spoke of her enthusiasm for faraway places.

Upon hearing the news of Prue's passing, Mrs Tanya O'Brien of Helpers of God's Precious Infants, offered the following tribute: "Prue has been a dedicated Helper who prayed at the monthly vigils year in, year out. May the unborn children, to whom she dedicated her life, sing her praises."

Babette Francis and everyone at Endeavour Forum mourn the loss of a wonderful and generous colleague in Prue, and extend their condolences to Norm and the family.

May she rest in peace. Amen.
____________________________________________________________