Giovanna Rubino

Giovanna, who died in August, aged 84, was born in Italy but spent her early years in France, before moving to Oxford in 1954, eventually settling in Richmond Road where she lived for 40 years. She worked first in the kitchen of the Master of Trinity who encouraged her to become a nurse. After training, she worked at the Warneford and then at the Radcliffe Infirmary where she became a staff nurse and, by choice, worked night shifts in intensive care, until she retired in 1981. Giovanna was a very lively person and had an amazing command of colloquial English, though delivered in a strong French accent that she never lost. Very versatile, she painted and played the piano. She loved cats, and also kept a hare and a rabbit. She became ill in 2003, and in May this year returned to her family in France. Thanks for all your work, Giovanna.