Tributes have been paid to a ‘much-loved’ pub landlady who passed away only four months after the death of her teenage daughter.
Karen Smalley, who ran the Spinning Jenny pub in Fern Gore for nearly nine years with husband Graham, died on Wednesday, September 2, aged 46.
Her daughter Jessica Smalley, 18, passed away on May 4 this year after a long fight against cancer.
The Rhyddings pupil, known as Jess, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, two years ago and was only told her illness was terminal a few months before her death.
Family friend Keith Allen said Karen’s death came as a ‘real shock’.
He said: “It’s no age at all. Her daughter was only 18 when she passed away.
“It makes you wonder why that should happen to one family.
“It was no age for either of them.
“It’s unbelievable.
“We only found out two weeks earlier she (Karen) had cancer. It was a real shock to everybody.
“Nobody expected it to be so quick and nobody was ready for it.
“They thought she could get treatment to slow it down and put it into remission.
“She was due to start treatment on Thursday 3 and passed away on Wednesday 2.”
Keith, who is a volunteer worker at the Globe Bowling Club, said she will ‘really be missed’.
He said: “She was a very quiet sort but very pleasant with everybody and well liked up there.
“Everybody knew her and nobody had a bad word to say about her.
“It was always good stuff.”
Fern Gore resident John Drinkwater said she was ‘well liked in the area’.
He said: “It was all very sudden. She only lost her daughter a few months ago.
“It was a shock to all the residents in the area.
“We only heard the week before about the cancer and a week later she had died. It was a real shock.
“She was a very good caring person, a really nice lady and was always pleasant.
“I’m sure there will be a lot of residents going to the funeral.”
Ward councillor Munsif Dad said his thoughts and condolences were with her family’.
Donations in her memory are being requested for Karen’s Memorial Park with cheques made payable to Funeral Service Charity Account c/o funeral director Hyndburn Funeral Services, Accrington.
