DEVASTATED relatives have paid tribute to a popular great-grandmother who died just days after celebrating her 60th birthday and engagement party.
Mary Moreton, who was undergoing treatment for cancer, died in Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn, after suffering a stroke.
Just 11 days earlier, her partner of 20 years, Bill Parkinson, had surprised her by proposing with a diamond ring during a family party to celebrate her 60th birthday.
Mrs Moreton's daughter, Joanne Boardman, said: "Mum had only been diagnosed with cancer 13 weeks ago and she was doing fine, coping very well with the treatment.
"But on the Sunday after her birthday, she had a stroke - the cancer had gone to her brain. It was all so sudden. No-one was expecting it."
Mrs Moreton, of Blackburn Road, Great Harwood, had two brothers and three sisters. The daughter of the late Tom and Mary Parker, she moved to the area in the 1960s.
She worked at Brooke Bond Oxo for many years before retiring to look after her family, and she ran the Town Gate Video Shop in Great Harwood with Mr Parkinson for 15 years.
Her family said she would be remembered for her forthright views and sense of humour, and would be sadly missed by all who knew her.
She leaves Mr Parkinson, her four children, Verena Ashworth, Mark Moreton, Nicola Moreton and Joanne Boardman, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Her funeral will be held today at St Bartholomew's Church, Great Harwood, from 12.45pm.
