Yvonne Everell

Yvonne Everell, (my mothers stage name) was born Eva Mary Donaghy to humble parentage in County Durham, almost 100 years ago. She exhibited creative artistic ability early in her adolescent years and as a consequence studied at ballet class and also received elocution training, achieving the latter with honours, as well as becoming an accomplished dancer and stage performer. She then appeared in the play ‘The Farmer’s Wife’ at Birmingham Repertory Theatre in June 1927 at the age of 14, a role that would eventually take her to Paris, and over the ensuing years she was to appear in many successful acting and stage performances.

During the late 1930’s Yvonne met and subsequently married Newton Huntley Rhodes (aka Bob) a talented jazz musician and they established their marital home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Early In June 1943 Yvonne gave birth to twin boys (my brother and I) and for the next 20 years she lovingly devoted all her time to raising and supporting us and continued to do so even after our departure into the big wide world, we were very much her raison d’etre. When my father died in 1982 my mother moved to Falmouth in Cornwall to be near my brother Chris and she remained there for the rest of her years spending the majority of her days enjoying gardening and floral pursuits, until she sadly passed away in April 2011 at the age of 98 after losing her battle with a long illness. She was always a rock in my life and is so greatly missed !