Rose Paterson
 Rose Paterson    | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Rose Emily Ridley 13 August 1956 |
| Died | 24 June 2020 (Age 63) |
| Alma mater | New Hall, Cambridge University |
| Spouse | Owen Paterson |
Rose Emily Paterson (née Ridley; 13 August 1956 – 24 June 2020) was the daughter of 4th Viscount Ridley, wife of Conservative Party MP Owen Paterson, a British business executive, fundraiser, and the chairman of Aintree Racecourse.[1]
Suicide
Rose Paterson contracted COVID-19 a few months before she was found dead in woods near her Shropshire home in June 2020. West Mercia Police treated her death as "unexplained", and it was not thought that any third party was involved. Her death was later ruled to be suicide by the coroner, Mr John Ellery. The inquest was told that Mrs Paterson had a previous history of anxiety and depression but in his statement to the hearing, Owen Paterson said his wife had not been suffering from depression at the time and had not been prescribed any anti-depressants.
He said that they had spent lockdown together at their home but he said he returned to London in mid June, returning to spend the weekend at home on June 19.[2]
Rose Paterson Trust
A new charitable trust in her memory – the Rose Paterson Trust – was launched on Saturday 10 April 2021, the day of the Grand National. Rose Paterson had a long association with Aintree and a race at the Grand National Festival has been named after her. Speaking of the "extraordinary anguish" his family has gone through since his wife's suicide, Owen Paterson said:
"We will never know definitively why Rose did this but the impact on us is absolutely terrible.
"I was married to her for 40 years, that is a long time and we never had an inkling of this."
Mr Paterson said his wife appeared to have a happy, fulfilling life but it did not tell the whole story. He said the Rose Paterson Trust would raise funds to support suicide prevention projects.
"If we can just help stop just one family going through the extraordinary anguish that we are currently going through and will continue to for many years, then we might have done some good," he said.
The trust also plans to campaign to get changes in national policy in a bid to reduce the frequency of suicide.[3]
References
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