Marjorie Dybeck - Our Founder

Photo of Marjorie Dybeck

Marjorie Dybeck was the founder of CARESCO and our first President. She spotted the need for an organisation which could co-ordinate care services within and around Sawtry and created a team of like-minded people to make it happen.

In 1998 Marjorie published The Story of CARESCO – A Successful Voluntary/Statutory Partnership in a Rural Area which she hoped would aid other groups into setting up similar organisations in their own locality.  The book states about its author:  “Marjorie Dybeck was the founder and first organiser of CARESCO in 1982.  After a career spanning 20+ years in education, Marjorie became Deputy Head of a large Comprehensive School.  On her marriage [to Maurice Dybeck, then warden at the village college] she moved to Sawtry in 1973 and became Parish Clerk of a very active Parish Council, Deputy County Organiser of Cambridgeshire WRVS and Vice-Chair of the National Association of Councils for Voluntary Service, and is [in 1998] the Chairman of the Council from Voluntary Action – South Lakeland.”.  Copies of the book are still available from the CARESCO office.

Even today, there are many people still involved in CARESCO who credit Marjorie for getting them involved in the first place.  She had an amazing ability to spot people’s potential and was able to persuade folk to get involved even when they had no intention of doing so.  One former trustee thought he had been invited for pre-Christmas drinks by a neighbour, only to discover that Marjorie had him lined up as the next chairman of CARESCO, a position he held twice over the years thanks to her persuasive charm.

Like all good parents, another of Marjorie’s major strengths was to be able to step away and leave CARESCO to fend for itself when the time came.  Marjorie and Maurice moved away from Sawtry in the mid-90s yet CARESCO continued to thrive under the people she had recruited.  Marjorie however, never left completely and always received the CARESCO management papers as well as the Sawtry Eye, maintaining her quiet, gentle support with encouragement and reassurance.

It was with great sadness that we learned of Marjorie's death in October 2011 at her home in Cumbria, following a long illness.  Although she moved away from Sawtry some 16 years before, Marjorie never lost interest in CARESCO or Sawtry and maintained contact until the end.  She was a remarkable woman, achieving more in her lifetime than many would not begin to manage in two.

On 16th December 2011 CARESCO played host for a Celebration of Marjorie’s life, attended by over 40 people who came together to remember her.  They heard tributes from family and friends recorded at the Celebration held in Cumbria, as well as a personal account by Kathy Jones of working with Marjorie in the early days of CARESCO.  There were also other local contributions from people who had known her well and she was remembered with affection and respect.

The best tribute of all to Marjorie is that so many years on, CARESCO is still thriving, caring for people from the local community.

 

Page last updated: Mon 20 Jun 2022
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