LYDIA PATTERSON
LYDIA Jane Patterson died suddenly but peacefully at her home in Orange County, California on Sunday, February 14, aged 70.
Lydia was born in Rawtenstall and was the second daughter of Nora and Ernest Trillo, formerly of the Red Lion Hotel, Higher Cloughfold.
She leaves her partner Steve, sister Vivienne, brother Billy and their partners Richie and Janette. Nephews Antony and Daniel, greatnephews Mack and Koby. Lydia will also be greatly missed by her many cousins and close friends.
A former pupil at BRGS, Lydia graduated from teacher training college with a B.Ed degree. She then taught at Keighley Grammar School, St Helens and Southport.
After leaving the teaching profession Lydia moved into the computer industry and worked at various companies in Gloucestershire as a programmer, systems analyst and consultant. She achieved an honours degree in Computer Sciences whilst employed at GCHQ in Cheltenham and became Senior Lecturer in Computing and I.T. at Wolverhampton University.
The opportunity of working and living permanently in the USA arose when her UK employer set up a base in California. She held several senior executive positions at both private and Global I.T companies and played a key role in securing software agreements with IBM and Unisys. Lydia settled into a happy and fulfilling life in America where she lived for over 25 years.
Throughout this time she kept close connections with family and friends in the Valley and always looked forward to coming home to visit them.
Her funeral will be held near her home in California followed by a family gathering later this year in the U.K to celebrate her life.
ROADS bosses say resurfacing works on speed humps are in response to local concerns.
One reader contacted the Free Press in disbelief after receiving a letter from Lancashire County Council (LCC) ahead of the works this week.
Alan Thornton, of Hardman Avenue, Rawtenstall, said: “We live on Hall Carr Estate and have received letters from Lancashire County Council stating they are going to resurface the speed humps on the estate.
“This is unbelievable when the roads across the borough are in such a poor state of repair, for example, the junction of Bury Road with Hall Carr Lane is disgraceful, the junction at Bury Road with Lomas Lane up to Fallbarn is the same. It’s a disgrace that the council feel it justified to replace speed humps, but not to repair the actual roads.”
Resurfacing of the speed humps and speed table at Fallbarn Crescent and Hardman Avenue is due to finish by February 29. The ad-hoc scheme is from a budget the local highways teams have to fix issues which are bigger than a pothole, but not big enough to warrant resurfacing the whole road.
A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “We are due to carry out a small scheme to reconstruct six speed humps on Fallbarn Avenue and Hardman Crescent, which are important traffic calming features to maintain safety in this area.
“Local people have raised concerns about the maintenance of these speed humps, and the scheme is being funded from a budget we have set aside for structural repairs such as these.
“The repeated cycles of freeze and thaw weather conditions which we have experienced this winter has had an impact on our roads, and we are currently developing proposals for a programme of investment over the next year which will be considered by cabinet on March 4.
“In the meantime we will continue to inspect and monitor the roads and carry out any repairs which may be needed for safety.
“If anyone spots a pothole which has developed in between our safety inspections, and that could cause a safety risk, we would ask them to let us know using our online Report It tool.”