Sad passing of ‘local legend’ Northampton newsagent who sold the Chronicle & Echo for three decades
‘Mum was very well known and well-loved’
A much-loved newsagent who refused to retire until she was 80 years old has passed away
Teresa Watts lived in the same house on Billing Road East for the past 66 years, and passed away age 95 with heart and kidney failure.
Teresa owned the newsagent in Glebeland Road from 1970 until taking over the shop on Kettering Road seven years later. She ran the newsagent until 1985, before moving to a shop on Landcross Drive until the late 1990s.
Daughter Caroline Brock, one of four children, remembers her mum’s incredible hard work ethic.
She said: “Mum was very well known and well-loved. I can't imagine how many Chronicle & Echo’s she sold in those years - not to mention the green 'un and the pick 'un!
“It was impossible to go into town without someone recognising her from one of the newsagents. We live in a different time now, but she was something of a legend.
“She had an incredible work ethic. She worked six and a half days a week, from 5am until 6.30pm. Her only days off were Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.
“Above all, Mum was a wonderful character. She was independent, sociable, hardworking, curious about people, a fabulous cook and completely devoted to her family. She was loved by everyone she met and lived a long, full and remarkable life.”
Teresa was born in London but first came to Northamptonshire during the war, when she was evacuated to Long Buckby along with her sisters.
When she returned to London she left school at 14-years-old and trained as a dressmaker, going on to work at a high-end fashion house in Mayfair, dressing celebrities and the city’s elite.
She married husband Ivan in 1952 before moving to Northampton 66 years ago, to Billing Road East.
It was then she became a newsagent, and Caroline says her mother’s favourite part of the job was having the chance to talk to so many different people.
She said: “Mum loved talking. She was a people person who was so interested in everyone she met. No stranger was safe when Mum was around! That was probably her most favourite part of the job.
“Even into her 90’s, Mum was always taking the number eight bus into town to meet her friends in Northampton for coffee.
“Mum’s secret to staying young, as she would have said, was her interest in people.”
Last year, Teresa moved into Cliftonville care home, where Caroline says staff were ‘fabulous’ at looking after her.
She passed away at the home on Saturday August 29, just days after the birth of her seventh great-grandchild and also leaves eight grandchildren.
A celebration of her life will take place at St Gregory the Great RC Church on Wednesday October 7 at 11am.
Caroline added: “We are saddened by her passing but keen to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman.”