Here at Barty House we have been devastated by the loss of our much-loved resident Val Blinkhorn who has passed away, aged 89, after 33 years at the home.
Val grew up and lived in the Maidstone area her entire life. She worked as a secretary and got married when very young to a farmer and, when he died in the late 1980s, she came to live at Barty at the invitation of some close friends who owned the house. When Barty became a nursing home in 2001, Val stayed on!
She certainly lived life to the full during the decades that she was here at Barty. She regularly went to the theatre in a chauffeur-driven car and for many years attended St Peter’s Church in Bearsted, as a mark of her strong faith.
Val loved keeping busy and joined in regularly with the home’s wellbeing activities. She was also very musical, having once played the cello, and especially loved it when the home hosted opera singers such as Joy Dey or pianist and cellist Karen Hill.
“Val loved to listen to stories about everyone’s lives and travels. She always asked to look at my holiday photos and would be amazed by the things I did while I was away! She also wrote letters to everyone and some of these really made us chuckle!” says Laura Tierney, the home’s head of activities.
She was visited every week without fail by her close friend Truda. The pair would chat and pray together, even throughout the pandemic. “It was a beautiful friendship,” says Laura.
Animal-lover Val owned several cats throughout her life. In her later years she enjoyed going to the local cat café and when local moggy Sid came into the home (which he often did), she would stroke him, which made her happy.
Paying tribute to Val, our home manager David Willis says: “Having been at Barty for so long, Val has made a lasting impression on ALL of the staff. We were her family, and she was a certainly an important part of ours. She is much missed by us all.”
Laura adds: “Val no longer being here has created a ‘Val-shaped’ hole in the activities lounge that will always be referred to as ‘Val’s spot’. She made me laugh on so many occasions and I will miss her massively!”
In Val’s honour, the home is re-naming the activities lounge to ‘The Blinkhorn Lounge’ and will put up a tribute there made by all the residents. Hopefully it will make Val smile, wherever she is!
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