10 November 2023 , 12:29
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A grandmother who loved Benidorm and had over 150 grandchildren and great-grandchildren has sadly died at the age of 90.
Jean Clark, a mother of 10 from Speke, had nearly 200 direct living descendants in her lifetime. In 2021, it was reported that Jean had 47 grandchildren, 115 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren - and since then, more little ones have joined the family. The family once thought that Jean, who adored "bingo, Benidorm and big family parties", might hold the Guinness World Record for the largest living family in the world.
Jean, who would have turned 91 in December, passed away on October 4, leaving a huge legacy to her loved ones and the wider community. Her granddaughter Christine Bird, 49, told us: "She was just very family-orientated. Her family came before anything." Christine added: "She was just a real all-round family woman, she loved her family. She just loved company." She described her grandmother as "She was lovely, funny, down to Earth, bubbly, but also very straight. If she had something to say she'd let you know."
Jean Clark (middle) with daughter Jule (right), granddaughter Christine (top left), great grandaughter Rebecca (bottom left) and great great grandaughter Olivia (Rebecca's daughter) in her arms. (Mirrorpix)
Jean Clark with her granddaughter, Christine Bird (Photo courtesy of Christine Bird)"She absolutely loved the bingo. She loved Benidorm, she loved a cruise, she loved her family and she loved a big family party. Her birthday is December 21, so for the last 10 years or so we've had a big party for her every year where we all get together and celebrate her."
"We're still going to do something to celebrate her birthday this year." Christine previously told the ECHO her nan had been on her own for years and raised her 10 children pretty much single-handedly. Sadly, out of 10 children, she lost one at six weeks to cot death and one of her daughters developed leukaemia and died aged 12. Jean also lost her daughter Julie, Christine's mum, in 2017 after a battle with cancer.
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Her surviving children are Sue, Tony, Sandy, Jackie, Sammy, Micky and Karen - and Jean's family and legacy continues to grow. Christine said: "She had a little, tatty, old birthday book - a little black book and all the birthdays used to go in that. It was actually falling to pieces at one point and I said 'nan can I buy you a new book' and she said 'you can sod off if you think I'm writing all those birthdays out again.' She has loads of pictures with newborns in the family, but whenever there was a new baby she'd have to have her hair done."
Jean with granddaughter Christine, her son Alfie, and Christine's own grandchildren Tyler, Kai and Olivia (Christine Bird)"We'd ask, can we have a picture or selfie with the new baby, and she'd say no not yet I've not had my hair done." After appearing in the Liverpool Echo in 2021, Jean also declined an invitation to go on ITV's This Morning. Christine shared her nan Jean's joy at having her name in the paper, saying "'I've had my name in the paper, that will do me just fine." She added: "She was made up, she was very proud, she had little pieces of the ECHO put up on the wall in her flat."
The funeral for Christine's nan was "absolutely packed," with guests overflowing from the church. Christine said the family were touched by the kind messages and memories shared on social media about their "queen" Jean. Christine also shared: "She was from Speke and I put a post on the Speke past and present group on Facebook about her. The amount of people who commented - it just goes to show how well loved she was. It was warming. It was just so lovely to hear peoples stories about my nan."
Christine expressed the family's feelings, saying: "It just meant a lot and it was very comforting for the whole family. How I'm feeling is how the whole family is feeling - she's left a massive void. She really was our queen."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]