Over the course of her life, my mother Chloë Blackburn, who has died aged 93, helped hundreds of people through difficult times. She was a fount of tea, wine, sympathy and solutions, to friends, relatives and acquaintances. “There is so much to celebrate in the joy of knowing Chloë,” wrote one correspondent soon after her death. “How to live life to the full, how to be gracious, and most of all, how to be kind!”
The daughter of Sir James Gunn, a noted painter, and his wife, Pauline (nee Miller), Chloë was born in London. She and her younger brother, Paul, had a childhood of adventure and travel – living in a succession of exciting locations (made possible by finding cheaper “end of lease” houses) – near-death encounters with scarlet fever and diphtheria, and wartime evacuation to a Scottish fishing village.
They also experienced little formal education. Their beloved German governess, Elizabeth, taught them to speak and write fluent German, but little else. Yet, after a couple of years at Mayfield convent school, Chloë won a place to study history at Somerville College, Oxford. Weeks before she went there, her mother died after years of illness, during which Chloë had been a devoted carer. This harrowing experience formed her fundamental philosophy: that it’s ultimately about what you do for others. “Because what else is there?”
At Oxford, she became reacquainted with a childhood friend, Crispin Tickell, who was studying modern history at Christ Church and would go on to become a diplomat. She was a dazzling bride at their 1954 wedding, which started years of foreign postings, and she was ever the perfect diplomat’s wife, forming lasting friendships wherever they went, as they brought up their three children, my brother, Oliver, sister, Oriana, and me.
Ultimately the marriage ended in 1976. With resilience, Chloë picked up her life and ran with it, settling in London and becoming a talented sculptor. She specialised in quarter-size bronze figures, and could strike an excellent likeness, mostly selling or giving her work to family and friends. She took her work seriously and, at her studio in St John’s Wood, she experimented with a range of media and techniques.
In 1985 she married Bill Blackburn, a lawyer, whom she had met through his wife Pitche. Shortly before Pitche’s death from cancer, she encouraged Bill to “marry Chloë!” And so it came to pass. After Bill’s death in 2002, Chloë continued to sculpt and entertain family and friends until age and frailty began to slow her down.
Chloë is survived by her children, eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and Paul.
