Gloria Gladys Ainger was born in Barking on 4 August 1933 to Gladys and George Ainger. Gladys and George already had another daughter, Audrey. Gloria attended school in Ilford where she excelled at sports and one year was awarded the Victor Ludorum - "the winner of the games". This was something that a young Gloria was very proud and would often say that her school years were the happiest years of her life. Gloria loved do go dancing and at one of these dances was introduced to Ray Ratnage. Initially, love blossomed, but after getting engaged Gloria started to have doubts and called off the engagement. Ray was devastated and wrote a letter saying that "Life wouldn't be worth living without you". It was enough to make Gloria change her mind and on the 14 June 1958 they were married in Barking. Audrey by this time had married Roy Baker and in the early 1960's both couples bought houses opposite each other in Upminster. Audrey had 2 boys, Neil and Stuart and Gloria also had 2 boys, Michael and Andrew. The two families were very close and would often have holidays together, sharing many happy memories. Gloria had a job at Sedgwick Insurance in Aldgate, London working first in a typing pool and later on an IT Helpdesk in the days when computers were very much in their infancy. At the time, Gloria played a lot of sport and would often arrive home with trophies and medals that she had won. After retiring, Gloria remained very active, she was a keen gardener and went walking and took up golf. In later years she played bowls, went to Keep Fit and loved playing bridge. Gloria enjoyed cruising and visited a number of different countries. She also enjoyed reading and there was never a book far from her side. However, throughout Gloria's life the one thing that gave her most pleasure and was most important to her, was raising her 2 sons. She was always there offering help and advice whenever needed. In the last years of Gloria's life she was struck down with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) which destroys nerve cells in the brain. it is a terrible illness which affected her balance, movement,vision, speech and her ability to swallow. Ray would often say that Gloria never learned how to relax and for someone with so much energy this was a painful existence. Those around her did all they could to give Gloria some quality of life. She was able to remain at home with the help of a live-in carer and showed incredible courage right up to her last day. At 8am on Tuesday 24 June, Gloria and Ray were at home in bed when Ray was woken up by the sound of someone calling Gloria's name - it was time for her to leave and enjoy the peace she so very much deserved. Gloria's funeral took place on Wednesday 9 July at St Peter's Church, Brentwood and was attended by many of Gloria's family and friends. This was followed by a committal at Upminster Crematorium where final farewells and thanks were given for Gloria's life. All those who knew Gloria will never forget her; she will always be loved and missed so very much.