Mary, known affectionately as Mimi, was Julia
Lennon's elder sister. Mimi left home at 19 to become a resident
trainee nurse at a local convalescent hospital. She went on to become
sister-in-charge of a ward of mentally handicapped patients. Later
she became a private secretary to a local businessman.
Just after the outbreak of World War II, on 15 September 1939,
Mimi married dairyman George Smith,
who had been courting her for 10 years. She was 33.
Mimi and her husband George took on the responsibility of raising
the infant John Lennon.
They had no children of their own.
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'Mendips',
where Mimi and George raised John Lennon
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John was raised in a very comfortable, middle class environment.
Although Mimi was loving, she was also very strict. She was against
the idea of John forming a band, and she didn't approve of Paul
McCartney and George Harrison when she first saw them. But it was
Mimi who bought John his first proper guitar after he pestered her
incessantly for weeks. She thought he would grow bored of it and
famously said: "Music's alright John, but you'll never make
a living out of it."
But when the Beatles became successful and John was making
a very good living he bought her a £25,000 bungalow in 1965
- Harbour View, 126 Panorama Road, Poole, Dorset. It was to be Mimi's
home for the rest of her life.
John kept in close contact with Mimi and telephoned her every week
from New York, often to reminisce about his childhood. Just three
days before John was murdered he called Mimi to say he was homesick
and planning a trip back to England soon.
Mimi died at home on 6 December 1992.
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