Doreen was a very kind, considerate and friendly lady, immensely articulate and a pillar of the Larch House community.

I met Doreen several times when visiting my father Donald Swain, who lived in Larch House from the autumn of 2007 until his death aged 96 on Valentine's Day in 2016.  He participated enthusiastically in Doreen's armchair exercise classes; I remember playing a small part myself, armed with a bicycle pump, inflating the balls which Doreen later used in the class (passed or thrown between participants to develop upper-body strength).  I commented to Dad that there wouldn’t be many 94 year-olds who were taking P.T. instruction from a 97 year-old!  I was pleased to hear from Doreen’s son, Steve, that, aged 102, she rightly won an Abbeyfield award for her keep-fit classes.  I also remember the kind speech which Doreen gave about Dad during the wake which was held in the lounge of Larch House, not long before Doreen turned a hundred. 

Please accept our sincere condolences. 

John, Helen and Ellie Swain