Our beautiful Pam was born in Shoreditch, London on 15/08/1966 to Anthony and Josephine King and had four siblings Janet, Jill, Sally and Fred. They had a very fun childhood, often playing and learning in the bicycle shop Grandad Anthony owned, so mum learnt from a young age how to fix and look after bikes.  She also used to love going to local jumble sales with her Mum and Nan, and this is probably where Mum’s love of bargain hunting came from. We carried on with this tradition through our childhood and we as a family would always joke about mum buying a lot of s**t and Mum always found this hilarious. Pam loved her siblings, and would often play tricks, borrow their clothes and draw on their dolls to make them “pretty”. From a young age, Mum would always try to bake something in the kitchen but it didn’t always go to plan and the family would have to tell her that some ingredients just don’t go together!

The family lived on Rainbow street which Pam always had fond memories of. Mum would take us girls on long drives into London to show us where she grew up, where she went to school or her first jobs etc, and she always had a funny story or a good laugh to share about each place.  Janet remembers mum being very good friends with the green grocers next door to the bike shop they helped in and buying cucumbers and eating them on the steps together. She also made friends with the sweet shop lady.

Sadly in 1982 Josephine, Pam’s Mum passed away suddenly leaving a big hole in the family. The siblings stuck together and went through tough times. Money sometimes was tight, so mum being the creative and amazing person she was, made curries for her siblings out of the strangest things, and sausage curry was born. Mum had many strange jobs when she was young, too, but was never afraid to work hard.

Years later Pam moved in with Wendy and her family in Carshalton Beeches.  This where Mum found out about Gods love and started her journey as a born-again Christian. She attended Tate Road (Sutton Christian Centre) where she made friends with people that she kept in contact with right up until her passing.  She did a lot of outreach work for the church and again, being the amazing, humble, giving person she was, she joined in with activities to help the homeless and those less fortunate however she could. Shortly after this, she met Laurence and soon after they were married. They travelled to Canada for a church outreach project which many people have very fond memories of. She did this all while pregnant with me, Rebecca, and it wasn’t a easy pregnancy. She had her first daughter Rebecca in 1988, and because she didn’t want me to be lonely, 3 years later she had her second child Laura in 1991. Laurence and Pam then broke up and went their separate ways.

After this, Pam met Wayne. They hit it off immediately and Wayne looked after and loved Becky and Laura as his own.  In March 1993, Pam and Wayne married in Croydon and they brought their first flat in Purley. We had amazing times in this, like when Mum wouldn’t let us leave the table until we ate all our vegetables, which rarely happened and the birth of “chicken Pasta” which was a tin of  chicken soup and pasta with cheese on top! Dad also used to have a small blue van when we lived here, and it didn’t have enough seats for us all, so sometimes we used to sit in the back (in a old bath tub we loved it) and drive around. Definitely didn’t follow the Highway Code for now, but back then, it was probably okay and we all turned out alright!

We also had our first holiday abroad to Tunisia, we were all so excited to be going on a plane and Mum used to sing “we’re all going on a, summer holiday” to us. This is where we learnt to do the “Aga do do do” as a family and we all got very badly burnt as kids and Mum took care of us.

Shortly after this trip, Mum announced we would be getting a baby sister… Laura and I were so excited to have a real life dolly. In 1995, Amber, her 3rd child arrived. Mum loved to dress us all up in matching outfits all the time.  Then in 1997 Mum and Dad had planned the trip of a life time. They surprised us all and said were going to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We had an amazing time! This is when Dad and Mum bought their first ever time share at Oasis Lakes, that then became our second home. Year after year we would visit, creating more memories. Without fail, every year, Mum and Dad would invite, bless or bring someone along with them on their trips to America and the memories only grew! Mum’s love of shopping found a new home in the Florida Mall and Bells Outlets, I even remember one year, Mum wanted to go shopping, but weather was awful and Orlando was on tornado watch, we even had frogs attached to the screen on the balcony. She was going, as she was safe with God and nothing was going to stop her! We arrived at the Mall and it was very quiet but mum enjoyed the bargains and buying for other people, Mum loved to bless everyone above all else. Especially around Christmas, Mum and Dad would go away to Orlando to do their Christmas shopping and Mum would find everyone the most perfect gift. Whether you knew her closely, or you mentioned something you liked once in passing, she would find a way of blessing you with the most amazing and thoughtful gift. Christmas is really going to be different without her joyful spirit.

In 1999, Dad and Mum bought a new house in Banstead and  we finally had a garden! Mum loved that garden and would often use it to pray, or feed the birds, hedgehogs or foxes and to host the most amazing parties, BBQs and get togethers! Over the years that house has had many makeovers and I’m sure it will continue to do so. Mum and Dad had joined a church called Logos which later became Rhema and this is where mum flourished in her walk with God and had many friendships that have helped her through many hard times. The church became a family to us and still is to this day. Mum became a part of the ministry team and people would go to her for advice or help. Mum has such a heart to help people, so this was something she loved and was called by God to do. Mum’s most known phrase in our house when growing up was “I’m not worried, God’s got it”. We keep this in our head and heart everyday. Mum was the glue that kept us all together as a family. The house they bought became a second home to many whom Mum adopted and helped over the years.

In 2004, Mum and Dad adopted Kyle and Cameron, who they fell in love with as soon as they were shown a picture of. Kyle has a cheeky smile so does Cameron and cute little chubby cheeks. Mum took straight away to fighting for these boys to make sure they had everything and every opportunity in life that us girls were given. It wasn’t always straight forward  and sometimes she didn’t win the first time but that didn’t stop Mum. She used to say “I know God’s got a plan for these boys, so I’m not worried”. The boys meshed into our family and the activities continued. We went on family holidays, trips, had amazing Christmases and birthdays together and we’ve all grown to be examples of the love, grace and kindness that Mum has enabled us to be

Mum’s family didn’t end there, she went on become a Nanny or Glam-Ma, as she called it, twice, with Sarah-Jane, 1st in 2008 and then Charlotte in 2020.

Everyone our Mum has met or spoken to has been touched by her love, patience and kindness and we as family know this to be true through all the messages and gifts we have received. She has left behind amazing memories and a fantastic legacy.

Thank you all for the messages and memories you have shared with us! We really appreciate the love and support you have all shared!