A REAL gem of a mum will pick up a fabulous £250 prize from a top Wrexham jewellers shop after landing the coveted title of 2015 Leader Mother of the Year.
At the grand old age of 86, Esme Price, of Cae-Glo in Cefn Mawr, helps out daily with looking her after daughter’s young foster son, keeps an eye on her older sister of 93 and still finds time to be a stalwart member of her local chapel where she has been organist for an incredible 70 years.
With Mothering Sunday approaching, the Leader joined forces with the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham and the fashion jewellery shop Mococo to launch the search for our Mother of the Year.
And after sifting through a mountain of entries, our judges have selected a worthy winner in Esme Price.
Her glittering prize, supplied by Mococo, is a beautiful silver and rose gold Eternal Love heart locket from Clogau worth £250.
Set with three sparkling diamonds, it contains rare Welsh gold. Enclosed within the locket is a beautiful solid silver heart also set with a diamond.
Esme was nominated for the competition by her daughter, Jan Llewelyn-Davies, 57, who is a family support worker.
She said in her nomination: “I have the most caring, kind, loving and helpful 86-year-old young mum.
“She keeps busy every day doing things like baby-sitting for our six-year-old foster son and also helping to keep him amused.
“She also looks in regularly on her older sister – my auntie – who is 93 and lives not far away.
“Mum loves to walk her four-year-old spaniel-collie cross dog Ollie around the village and also enjoys knitting, crocheting and her latest thing of making loom bands. She also still drives around in her own little Vauxhall Corsa car.
“A really big part of her life is Rhosymedre Chapel where she has been a member since she was a little girl.
“She’s been the chapel organist since she was 16 – that’s an amazing 70 years – and has also been the treasurer for 58 years.”
Jan added: “My mum has been married twice and when her first husband, John, developed problems with his kidneys she helped to give him dialysis every day until he had a transplant.
“Sadly, he died in 1986 after they had been married for over 35 years. Later she married the man who had been her first boyfriend but she is now a widow after he died about 12 years ago.
“Mum is very family orientated and does everything she can to help us all.
“She is a great choice for Mother of the Year and I am delighted that she has won. Actually, I shed a little tear of joy when I heard she had been chosen as the winner.”
Esme said: “I just can’t believe that I’ve won the competition and I was absolutely flabbergasted when I found out about it.
“I don’t think I do anything out of the ordinary as a mum but Jan is a wonderful daughter and I am very grateful to her for putting me forward.
“I’m overjoyed to have won the beautiful locket. It will replace a lovely one bought for me by my first husband but which was stolen in a burglary from our home while we were away on holiday quite a few years ago.”
Runner-up in the competition is 41-year-old Dawn Thomson from Cornist Drive in Flint.
She was nominated by her daughter, 21-year-old Katie Thomson, for the way she has coped with bringing up herself and her 13-year-old brother Kyle mostly as a single mum while at the same time building a successful business.
Katie, who is in the third year of a fine arts degree course at Leeds Beckett University, said: “She brought up myself and my younger brother mostly on her own and gives her all for us.
“She started from the bottom in building up her own business which took a massive amount of hard work.
“She has an extremely positive energy no matter what and is completely selfless.”
Katie described how her mum started out as part of the sales team at a fabric shop in Greenfield, was promoted manager and eventually became co-owner three years ago.
Katie added: “Apart from everything else, my mum also saved my grandmother’s life about five years ago when she went through a painful operation to donate one of her kidneys when gran developed kidney problems and dialysis was no longer working for her.”
Dawn, whose fabulous prize is a family ticket to the Odeon Cinema at Eagles Meadow, said: “Katie never told me that she had entered my name for the competition, so I was really shocked but delighted when I found out I had been chosen as runner-up.
“I’ve just been doing my job in bringing up my children and always tell them that all I want from them in return is a kiss and hug.”
Maureen Hooson, who founded Mococo with her husband, Lee, said: “We’re delighted that we have been able to find such worthy winners.
“The competition is a lovely way to pay tribute to somebody who has had a great impact on your life, a person whose love and care knows no boundaries.
“I know they had a difficult job but the judges have chosen a fantastic winner and runner-up and I send them both my warmest congratulations.”
Kevin Critchley, the Manager of the Eagles Meadow, said “Mother’s Day is the time to pamper your mother for all that she has done for you over the years, and I’m delighted to see that a very deserving winner and runner-up have been selected for these two great prizes.
“If you want to spoil her for once, Eagles Meadow is the place to come to ensure the perfect day out for the perfect mother.
“We are undoubtedly the capital of shopping in North Wales – and we have a fantastic array of stores to suit all tastes, including Debenhams, River Island, Next and M&S.
“One of the strengths of the centre is that it is not just about retail because there is also a very strong leisure element.
“You can start with breakfast in Starbuck’s, do all your shopping in all the retail outlets, have a family meal in one of our great restaurants and then enjoy some tenpin bowling before going to the cinema to watch a film.
“You can come here at 8am and leave at midnight and you can give that special mum in your life a day to remember!”
To find out more about what’s on offer at Mococo go to www.mococo.co.uk and for more information about Eagles Meadow go to www.eagles-meadow.co.uk
