Rene (Avery) Priest (1903 - 1939)

Born 24 Oct 1903 in Petersham, New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Wife of Merton George Warner Priest — married 1922 in Sydney, New South Wales

Died 6 Apr 1939 at age 35 in Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia

Biography

Rene was born at Petersham in Sydney circa 1903 ^{[1] [2]}, three years before the date inscribed on her headstone ^[3].

Little is known about her childhood, however, she is known to have married Merton Warner Priest in 1922 at Manly ^[4], not long after the death of her father, William Alfred Avery. Her husband was described as a well-known business man in Glen Innes and thus, after marriage, she moved with him to Glen Innes. They established home there called Hesilda on Warner Street ^{[5] [6]}, where they started a family of three boys, Merton, Glen, and Kevin [pictured with their mother on the right of this page]

At 11 pm on 6 Apr 1939, tragedy struck when Rene was found lying near the back steps of a house in Torrington Street, which is on the same block as she lived in Walter Street. Mrs A. (Eva) Goodwin is reported to have found her dead body ^{[2] [7] [8]}

Deceased had visited the Goodwin home earlier in the evening, and had, apparently, some time before her death, walked the short distance from her own home in Walter Street. There was no one else in the house when Mrs. Goodwin returned and found deceased body. She notified a doctor, who pronounced life extinct, and the police were informed. The post mortem revealed that death was due to natural causes, probably heart failure. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ New South Wales Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages Birth Certificate 33504/1903 Name: AVERY, RENE Father: WILLIAM A Mother: DAISY District: PETERSHAM
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Glen Innes Examiner (NSW : 1908 - 1954) Tue 11 Apr 1939 Page 4 Obituary: Mrs M. Priest
3. ↑ Find a Grave memorial for Rene Avery Priest (1906–1939): accessed 04 April 2020; citing Glen Innes General Cemetery, Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia
4. ↑ New South Wales Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages Marriage Certificate 5131/1922 Groom: PRIEST, MERTON G W Bride: AVERY, ROMA District: SYDNEY
5. ↑ Australian Electoral Commission. [Electoral roll]; cited in Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line] Name: Rene Priest Gender: Female Electoral Date: 1936 Electoral Place: Glen Innes, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia Address: 'Hesilda', Walter Street Occupation: Home Duties
6. ↑ Australian Electoral Commission. [Electoral roll]; cited in Ancestry.com. Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980 [database on-line] Name: Rene Priest Gender: Female Electoral Date: 1937 Electoral Place: Glen Innes, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia Address: Hesilda, Walter Street Occupation: Home Duties
7. ↑ The Sydney Morning Herald Wed 12 Apr 1939 Page 14 Family Notices PRIEST, Rene Apr 6 1939 at Glen Innes
8. ↑ New South Wales Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages Death Certificate 10935/1939 Name: PRIEST, RENE Father: WILLIAM ALFRED Mother: DAISY District: GLEN INNES