Relatives and friends of York brain tumour victim Margaret Jennings said an emotional farewell to a woman who bravely fought to fulfil her dreams despite her debilitating illness.

Margaret Jennings in August last year after she had graduated from the University of York

Margaret was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour ten years ago and underwent five operations which left her unable to work.

But it was cancer of the pancreas, which then spread to the liver, that caused her death on March 1 at the Cookridge Hospital, Leeds.

Decked in yellow roses and carried in a glass-sided horse drawn carriage, Margaret's coffin was conveyed past her home in Castlegate, York, to St Laurence's Church, Lawrence Street, for her funeral yesterday.

Despite the tumour and her final illness, Margaret, 51, a mother-of-three, never allowed her fighting spirit to be stifled, as demonstrated last year when she beat the odds to complete a degree at the University of York.

The congregation heard from parish priest, the Rev Peter Thornton, also chaplain at York District Hospital.

He said: "Times were often hard, but she always kept her family uppermost in her heart.

"She worked for social services as a support worker and cook and she loved good food.

"She loved her city - York - its history and interesting buildings, and she shared with her family that love, telling them always to look up and around.

"After her first bout of illness she began her education first with O-levels, then a foundation course at York University, going on to a degree in educational studies, despite problems with her health.

"More recently, there was a massive deterioration in her health, but she kept going and fought it and the care of her family remained uppermost in her mind."

After the hymn, All Things Bright And Beautiful, Margaret's daughters, Paula and Clare, read passages from two of her favourite books. Her son, Steven, was also among the mourners.

The first reading was from Behind The Scenes Of The Museum, by Kate Atkins, describing scenes of the River Ouse and considering the role of the many generations who had all "left their lost property" in the landscape.

The second was from the novel Wild Swans, the story of the lives of three generations of Chinese women.

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