Donna Latter passed away on the 23rd December 2006, aged 55. She loved her family and friends but most of all she had a special place for CWA.
CWA meant to Mum fellowship, happiness, to help each other out in good times and bad but most of all everyone was there for the same thing to work within their community and assist where they were needed the most. Dad and I both knew as soon as someone was in trouble or needed help with anything to do with CWA she was there in a flash, CWA was her life.
Mum had a passion for a lot of things but one of her favourites was cooking, you would come through the back door of the house and smell the cakes and biscuits, flour on the floor and cooking bowls in the sink, the cooking books spread over the benches of new recipes that she was trying out on dad and I, it was cooking day. But always there was the special cake that was always made when even dad and I needed our cake fix or if we were going to visit a friend or have visitors, the cake that meant home, Mum’s love, the cake that every kid at school would be envious of you when mum packed it in your lunch box, the chocolate cake.
I still remember it like yesterday always cooked in a 20cm square tin that was so worn, the same tin was used over and over, and of course there were other tins but mum always stuck to the same old tin. The smell of the cake coming out of the oven was so rich in chocolate smell that I swear I could smell it meters away.
Once it was iced in chocolate icing with hundreds and thousands on top, dad and I knew it was time to cut this before it got too cold. When you would cut it, it was soft as a sponge and it would crumble a little and would just melt in your mouth, it was the best ever, just heaven. We would tell mum that we needed to test it before it got cold just in case it was bad, sometimes we were lucky enough to get the cake before it was iced, Mum would just shake her head with a big smile on her face, anything to get to our special cake.
We would quickly eat the first piece so we could go back for more, I really don’t know why she didn’t make two every time and the cake was always gone before the end of day.
As time passes I try and make the same cake thinking that it wouldn’t be that hard to make after watching mum thousands of times in the kitchen making the same cake still I can never get it the same taste as the memory I hold so deep to my heart.
In 2007 in loving memory of Donna Latter, the Latter family decided to put together the ‘Donna Latter Chocolate Memorial competition.
Mums memory will continue because of the chocolate cake that means so much to us all, thank you for keeping Mums memory alive.
Written by Kathy Dyson, Donna’s Daughter
12/3/13