Pam attended Downe House during the 1940s. She loved school having been educated at home until then. She was always very proud of her seven credits gained in her School Certificate in 1947. She attended the Monkey Club in London where she learned to cook, made numerous friends and had a great social life.   

When her father retired from the Navy, the family moved to Northumberland where Pam met Clive Straker, a landowner and very successful amateur jockey. They married in 1953 and Pam accompanied Clive all over the country to various race meetings. She had wonderful stories about buying racehorses in Ireland and the extraordinary people they met.    

In the late 1950s, Pam joined the British Red Cross and trained in First Aid and Nursing rising to become Assistant Commandant of the Corbridge Detachment in 1959. She was often on duty at race meetings and rode in the back of the ambulance on numerous occasions to attend various emergencies, a forerunner to the paramedics we have now perhaps.    

Pam was always good at taking care of people. She looked after Clive who went blind in his late 40s having been a lifelong diabetic; her parents when they became frail and her three children, always there to advise, commiserate or just listen. Cooking was always a big part of her life. When Clive died in 1980, Pam joined Country Cousins to cook and care for people in temporary need.   

She loved to travel. She was always interested in history and went on annual trips to different battlefields in Europe or mini cruises to visit gardens around the coast of Britain. One of her daughters lived in South Africa for a while which was another great opportunity for Pam to visit.    

Although her mind was sparky until the end, ill-health plagued her final years. She was always surrounded by people, at ease in the company of any age. She was immensely loved by all three children, ten grandchildren and eight and a bit great-grandchildren. She leaves a big hole in their lives.