A WELL-KNOWN Tynedale woman, who was a familiar face to patients at Hexham’s Burn Brae medical practice, has died suddenly, aged 69.

Catherine Laidlow suffered a heart attack at home in Acomb on January 22 and despite the efforts of paramedics, could not be saved.

Born in Haltwhistle, Catherine grew up in Hexham and studied at St Mary’s RC School in the town before moving on to La Sagesse in Newcastle.

She met husband, Jim, while the pair were both new members of the popular Hexham Amateur Stage Society.

“We both joined in 1963 while they were rehearsing for a performance of South Pacific,” explained Jim.

“I asked her to the after show party and the rest, as they say, is history.”

The couple tied the knot at Minsteracres in 1971 and settled down together in Newcastle.

One of Catherine’s first jobs had been with the former Martins Bank, which later became Barclays, in Bellingham, but the move to Newcastle signalled a career change.

“She was always looking to better herself,” said Jim.

“So she’d taken secretarial courses in shorthand and typing.”

The skills came in handy when she became a private secretary to a kidney consultant at Newcastle General Hospital, then for the hospital’s director of public health, before being appointed business manager at the Nuffield Hospital in Jesmond.

The couple later returned to Tynedale and Catherine went on to dedicate almost two decades of her career to Hexham’s Burn Brae Medical Group, where she worked as a medical secretary.

Jim explained: “She loved her job. She started working at Burn Brae in 1994 and was there until she retired in 2013.”

Acomb, where Jim grew up, became the couple’s home in 2001 and Catherine was well-known in the community as a worship leader, treasurer and dedicated choir member at Acomb Methodist Church.

A love of writing saw her become a regular on creative writing courses around Hexham, and in 2010 she became the Courant’s village correspondent for Acomb, keeping readers up to date with the community’s news through her weekly column.

She had been due to begin an Open University course on English literature and creative writing the day after her death.

Catherine leaves behind Jim and their two sons, David and Richard.

A service of thanksgiving for Catherine’s life was held at Hexham’s West End Methodist Church last Friday.