TRIBUTES have been paid to a woman who helped raise thousands of pounds for St Peter's Church in Norton.

Dorothy Burrow passed away on May 27 just 17 days after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Mrs Burrow, who was 83, was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of three children.

She won a scholarship to Newton-le-Willows Coronation School and first worked in the civil service before training as a teacher with her first post in a deprived area of Liverpool.

Mrs Burrow met her husband Peter in 1968 at Newton-le-Willows High School where they were both teachers.

They moved to Norton in 1972 when Peter took up a post teaching at Malton School and their daughter Renate was born a year later.

Mrs Burrow was one of the founding members of St Peter's Church House management committee, organising an annual sale of knitted Easter chickens which were sold locally and as far afield as Greece, Spain and America.

Church member Cedric Dennis, said: "The task was to take a crumbling building and bring it back to life. The mobilisation of the Easter chickens was her idea and raised many thousands of pounds for the church house.

"She remained an active member right up until her death."

Mrs Burrow's daughter Renate Sangwine, said she had been showing symptoms of illness since the beginning of April.

"By the time cancer was diagnosed it has spread through her body and was found to be untreatable, but mum dealt with it very well," she added.

Renate, who also trained as a teacher, said her mother had loved reading and singing and had been a member of two church choirs as well as appearing in amateur dramatic productions.

"She always made sure I did well at school and was always going to get extra work for me to do," Renate added.

"Mum also stressed the need to make the most of every moment."

Mrs Burrow's funeral service was held at St Peter's Church, on Monday, June 6, followed by interment, with donation's to the Bell Tower Appeal.