Community warden Jean was loving and caring
JON MACPHERSON
TRIBUTES have been paid to a former community warden who has passed away after a battle with cancer.
Jean Dodd, of Woodside Road, Huncoat, worked as a recruitment manager at Express Gifts in Accrington for 15 years before retiring in April 2016.
The grandmother-offour was also one of the first ever community wardens in Accrington town centre during the 1990s and in recent years helped plant hundreds of trees at Spout House Community Woodland in Huncoat.
She passed away at hospital surrounded by family members on Thursday, December 14, aged 70.
Her son Clive Haslam said Jean will be remembered as a ‘loving, caring and strong’ woman.
Jean, who was the stewardess of the Helmshore Branch of the Royal British Legion, previously lived in Rossendale and in her younger years was heavily involved in amateur dramatics and was a wellknown singer.
Clive told the Observer: “She was definitely funloving, she lived life the way she wanted to do it and she enjoyed socialising. She was straight-talking, a bit of a comedienne, very strong-willed and level headed.
“She used to love singing. She won us a couple of holidays when we were kids through singing competitions.
“If there was a micro- phone and a piano you could guarantee my mum would be stood next to it.
“She was always doing fundraising and charity events and was very supportive of Macmillan Nurses. If you had nothing and she had very little then she would make sure you had something.
“If you were colder than her then she would give you the shirt off her back.”
Jean was diagnosed with bladder cancer in early 2016. After being given the all-clear in April this year she was diagnosed with a secondary bone cancer in October.
Clive, 41, from Leyland, said: “It was a shock. We weren’t expecting it. We knew she had cancer before but it took over extensively through her body and they couldn’t offer any treatment.”
Former partner of the late James Jukes and the widow of Tony Dodd, she leaves children Nick, BillieJean, Clive and Alison, and extended family.
See full obituary below.