Funeral of Jennyfer Spencer - Tributes to disabled woman who left note asking for care probe

Published: 20 May 2010
by TOM FOOT

AFTER the anguish and the heartbreak, family and friends of Jennyfer Spencer found comfort and a degree of closure during a tearful farewell at her funeral on Tuesday.

Around 30 mourners attended Islington Crematorium in East Finchley to celebrate the life of the “inspirational” Gos­pel Oak woman who rose above her severe disabil­ity and struggle for a decent home to touch so many with her kindness.

Ms Spencer’s death in her flat in Waxham led to calls for a public inquiry about the care and housing she received.

The congregation sang the hymn Rock Of Ages and the Dionne Warwick cover of Stevie Wonder’s That’s What Friends Are For filled the chamber after the committal. 

The short religious service was solemnised by Winslow Hunter, chief elder of the Holloway Seventh-day Adventist Church, where Ms Spencer attended regu­larly before a triple brain haemorrhage confined her permanently to a wheelchair.

He said: “We are here, in trying times, when it seems like there’s no comfort. All that we have is our memories. This is the time to take the positives.”

Ms Spencer, 46, known locally as Alex, was found dead in her fifth-floor council flat in March – her home had not been adapted for wheelchair access. She left a note urging the New Journal to investigate her case.

Her mother, Sylvia, who came to London from Trinidad in the 1960s, spoke of her strong bond with her daughter and recalled fun-packed Christmas and Easter holidays. 

Speaking outside the chapel, she said: “She would send me little parcels all the time and I would send her cards. She was thoughtful and always tried to make me happy. When I would phone her and ask how she was she would say, ‘mum, I’m fine’. She was protecting me from what she was going through.”

Ms Spencer grew up in Islington and went to Star Cross School for Girls, now Elizabeth Garrett Anderson secondary school in Angel. She worked as a carer for the elderly and in catering, before training as a teacher and moving to the Waxham estate in 2002.

The following year she was hit by a massive stroke that left her with lasting disabilities and prone to daily blackouts.

Lifelong friend Joyce Richardson said: “She was a peacemaker and bubbly – but she did change after her operations. She became ­quieter. But she always remained the kind of girl that made you think you had potential for the future. She trusted people and was always very lovely to her mother.”

Ms Spencer’s urgent needs to be rehoused on the ground floor were not met by housing officials at Camden Council, who became frustrated after she refused to accept five offers of “more suitable accommodation” over a five-year period. After she was found not to be spending her direct care payments correctly, her benefits were altered and finally terminated 10 months before her death.

Disability groups have called for a public inquiry into Ms Spencer’s care, and an inquest will establish the cause and circumstances surrounding her death next month.