A PROLIFIC letter writer and author who fought a long battle against a rare progressive neurological disorder has died, aged 74.

Margaret Lawson, whose life-long dream had been to write a book, lived long enough to see her first effort, a short novel called Claret, published in June.

Paying tribute to Margaret, who lived at Marjorie Waite Court, in Clifton, York, her daughter, Sue Will, described her mother as the “dearest mum, grandma and friend”. “She was so special, but never realised how special,” she said. “She had a beautiful smile and infectious laugh and the twinkle in her eye will be sadly missed by so many.”

Margaret, who penned scores of letters to this newspaper, many of which were extremely witty, suffered from Multiple System Atrophy, which confined her to an electric wheelchair and made it difficult for her to speak.

The symptoms started around the millennium, when Margaret began losing her balance and bumping into things.

About 15 years ago, she wrote Claret, a 120-page long cautionary tale about two men of markedly different standing, one a wealthy solicitor possessed of all life’s riches, the other a homeless, carefree enigma. Sue, of Rawcliffe, York, said her mother was very pleased with the finished result. A review of Claret in The Press by Julian Cole said: “The neatly contained plot brims with nicely rounded characters, none more so than Ralph Cropton, the well-placed solicitor whose reckless descent into alcoholism and middle-aged foolishness take him close to self-destruction.”

Margaret, a former pupil of the old Mill Mount Grammar School for Girls, now All Saints’ RC School, in York, also brought out a book of poems called Whitby Trilogy And Other Poems.

Sue said: “Her sense of humour helped her get through all the adversities she faced.

“She fought her illness so bravely and rarely let it get her down.

“She was so intelligent, gifted, kind, caring and so sensitive.

“She never thought she was good enough but the truth is she was too good. We’ll never forget her.”

Margaret, who was born in The Groves, York, died on Sunday at York Hospital. She also leaves sons Neil and John, and grandchildren Nikki, Jodie and James.

Her funeral will take place on Tuesday, at 10.30am, at York Crematorium.