THE people of Prudhoe turned out in force to celebrate the life of a woman who gave so much to the town.

Maureen Goodfellow passed away in hospital on March 25 at the age of 82 following a short illness.

Her funeral on April 5 was so well attended, many people had to stand at the back of Prudhoe Methodist Church.

Born in Winlaton on June 6, 1935, Maureen left school to work as a telephonist in the Team Valley.

On her 21st birthday she became engaged to John Nesbitt; the couple were married at Winlaton Methodist Chapel.

Maureen and John settled in West Wylam and had three children, Paul (57), Dawn (56) and Julie (55).

When she was just 37, Maureen’s husband John sadly passed away.

Maureen went on to work part-time at the newsagents in West Wylam shopping centre.

In 1985, she joined Prudhoe Town Council, eventually rising to the ranks of a district councillor.

She retired from her newsagent job in 1990, but certainly didn’t stop working as in 1994 she held the office of Mayor of Prudhoe for a year.

Maureen remained a driving force of Prudhoe Town Council until 2001 and was involved in the development of Prudhoe Waterworld.

Her second husband Walter, who she married in 1990 said: “People used to come to the house to speak to her about any little problem they were having because they thought she could help.”

A legacy Maureen will leave the town is the flourishing Prudhoe Aged People’s Treat which she organised for 22 years alongside Joan Grant.

Walter said: “She was always involved, even when she broke her hip she was still organising everyone with a Christmas stocking on her bad leg.

“Even on holiday she would keep an eye out for potential raffle prizes to buy.”

After their retirement, Walter and Maureen, who had only been as far south as Blackpool, enjoyed travelling to Australia, America the Bahamas and further afield.

Maureen was a devoted grandmother to Amy (31), Sarah (29), David (37), Nicola (29), Jack (14), Saffron (14), Steven (23), Jamie (14) and Daryl (25).

She was also great-grandmother to Leam (3), Daniel (7), Jay (3) and Joe, eight months.

Walter said: “People loved her for what she had done for Prudhoe.

“She was such a lovable, approachable person.”