OBITUARIES
PHYLLIS POLLARD
MRS Phyllis Pollard, of Barnes Street, Church, died on Saturday, February 22, aged 85.
She was a wages clerk for Howard and Bullough and for Wright Hargreaves.
Prior to retirement Phyllis was the book keeper for the family business W Pollard Joiner.
In her younger years she enjoyed cycling, dancing, camping, water skiing and canoeing, spending much of her time at Coniston.
She enjoyed many holidays abroad and at their caravan in Knott End, she loved reading and frequently used the church library. She was always welcoming and cooked the best chips!
Wife of the late Walter, mother to Walt, Ian and Phillip, mother-in-law to Maxine, Lorraine and Keely and grandmother to David, Amy, Mikey, Victoria and Andrew.
The funeral will take place on Friday, March 6 with a service in St Augustine’s, Huncoat at 10am, followed by a burial at Dill Hall Cemetery.
Flowers welcome and donations requested for Carers Link Lancashire.
Funeral director: Hyndburn Funeral Services, Queens Road, Accrington.
ROBERT WHELAN
IT is with great sadness that our family has to announce that Robert Whelan, aged 59, suddenly passed away at home on Thursday, February 20.
Robert was a loving family man with a heart of pure gold.
He has left a huge hole in all our hearts and will be dearly missed by many.
A devoted husband to Adele, a loving dad to
Ian, Wayne, Robert and Stephanie, a doting grandad to Charlotte, Skye, Lacie-Mai, Stacey, Connor and Harley.
The much loved brother to John, Sheila, Barry, Deborah, Shane, Donna, Julie and the late Hilda and the cherished uncle of many nieces and nephews.
Family flowers only please, donations are being received in memory of Robert on behalf of the British
Heart Foundation.
The funeral service will take place on Friday, March 6 at 3pm, at Accrington
Crematorium.
Funeral director: Champ Funeral Services, Bank House, Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors.
KENNETH JONES
MR Kenneth (Ken) Jones, of Yew Tree Drive, Oswaldtwistle, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 26, aged 83.
Throughout his life Ken was a hard worker and worked for Nayler The Printer Ltd between 1952 and 1985, before becoming the proud owner of Nolans Delicatessen and the adjoining health food business on Accrington Market from 1985 until 2000.
He was also a founder member of the Springhill Car Club and on the fundraising committee of St Paul’s Scouts, Oswaldtwistle for 10 years. He was also a member of the Coniston Sailing Club for 25 years.
He loved nothing better than sailing and spending time on his yacht, especially with his late wife Anne, as well as going camping and caravanning.
A much loved father of Michael and Heather and daughter-in-law Jane, a treasured grandad of Emma, Stacey, Rachel and Matthew, a cherished great-grandad to Leo, Zander and Alice, and also a dear brother of Marilyn.
A celebration of life service will be held at 2.20pm, on Friday, March 6, at Accrington Crematorium.
Family flowers only please, but donations in memory of Ken are being received for the MS Society c/o funeral director Barton & Hallworth Funeral Service, The Old Foxhill, 136-8 Union Road, Oswaldtwistle.
OLIVE LORD
OLIVE, aged 93, passed away peacefully at her home of 70 years.
Dear wife of the late Jimmy, loving mum to Tony, Wendy and Geoff, dear grandma to Lain, Ben, Simon, Louise, Emma, Rebecca and Charlotte also greatgrandma to Oscar, Mia, Jack, Amelie and Zak, sadly missed by her daughter-in-law Lynne, Paul and Odette, also all her immediate family and friends.
Funeral service and committal will take place at Accrington Crematorium on Tuesday, March 10 at 1pm.
Family flowers only please, donations if desired in memory of Olive to NSPCC c/o funeral director Champ Funeral Services, Bank House, Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors.
MARION BENSON
ON Tuesday, February
25, suddenly in hospital, Marion, aged 93, of Accrington and latterly a much loved and respected resident at Haslingden Hall & Lodge.
The dearly loved wife of the late Alan, much loved mum of Janet, Robert and Andrew, very dear mother-in-law of David, Lorraine and Jane, loving nana of Kathryn,
Joanne, Sarah, Thomas, Hannah, Ian, Stephen and Emma and greatnana of Rory, Ronnie and Oliver.
Marion was the most supportive and loving wife and mum who adored her home.
Family holidays when the children were young were spent in Wales and later, Marion and Alan enjoyed their holidays abroad and cruising. A favourite destination for them both was Madeira.
In 1970, when Alan served as the Mayor of Accrington, Marion was Mayoress, a role she took seriously and thoroughly enjoyed.
She was a former secretary of the Accrington branch of the RNLI and received the Institute’s Gold Medal for her long standing services and commitments to the RNLI.
Marion was very much a people person and loved socialising and being in company. She and Alan enjoyed their evenings spent in The Crown with their friends.
She was a very good friend to have. Marion was also a member of
The New Jerusalem Church, Accrington.
She will be remembered for being a loving and lovely lady, and will be sadly missed but fondly remembered by all who knew her.
Donations in memory of Marion to the RNLI c/o funeral director Champ Funeral Services, Bank House, Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors, Accrington.
FRANK BIRKBECK
MR Frank Birkbeck, of Huncoat, died on Sunday, February 23, aged 70.
He retired in 2010 from Express Gifts, Chadderton where he worked as a warehouse manager.
His interests included computing, motoring and snooker.
Frank also enjoyed family holidays to Bournemouth and Scotland.
Husband to Joan, father of Stephen, brother of Paris, Paul and Andrew and also a brother-in-law and uncle.
He will be sadly missed, but fondly remembered by all who knew him.
The funeral service was due to take place on Thursday, March 5, at 11am at Accrington Crematorium conducted by the minister Neil Overton.
Family flowers only please, donations requested for Cancer Research UK.
Funeral director: Hyndburn Funeral Services, Queens Road, Accrington.
JOHN WOOD
MR John Wood, of Brantwood Avenue, Knuzden, Blackburn, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, February 26 at Royal Blackburn Hospital, surrounded by his family, aged 72.
John was born in Accrington and attended Springhill School and Wood Nook Secondary School.
He started work at the age of 15, as an apprentice radio and TV engineer with Relay Vision. He subsequently became self-employed after a number of years, he repaired home computers.
He then went onto installing satellites and aerials. He retired at the age of 60 to concentrate on his many hobbies.
John enjoyed caravanning with his wife and children for over 40 years, both in this country and abroad. Latterly they enjoyed many holidays in Spain.
He was a member of Glasson Dock Sailing Club where, together with his brother Tony, he spent many hours messing around on the river.
John had many hobbies which included painting, electronics, computing, DIY and motorcycling. In his younger years John was a keen radio amateur.
John leaves his much loved wife of 51 years Jeanette, children Jackie, David and Mark, grandchildren Josh, Mat, Becky and Hannah, great-grandson Lucas, brother Tony and son-in-law Karl.
The funeral will take place on Monday, March 9 at 1pm, at Accrington Crematorium.
Family flowers only please, and donations requested for RNLI.
Funeral director: Hyndburn Funeral Services, Queens Road, Accrington.
SONIA ROBINSON
ON Wednesday, February 19, peacefully in hospital, Sonia, aged 88.
Beloved wife of the late William, much loved mum of Odette, the late Sonia and the late William, much loved mother-in-law of David, cherished grandma of Heather and Neil and a good friend to all who knew her.
The funeral service will take place on Thursday, March 12, at Accrington Crematorium at 2.20pm.
Donations in memory of Sonia to St John Church, Baxenden, Accrington c/o funeral director Wolstenholme Funeral Directors, Willows Lane, Accrington.
ALLEN FRANCE
MR Allen France, of Burnley Road, Claytonle-Moors, passed away unexpectedly but peacefully on Friday, February 28, aged 77.
During his life Allen worked for British Aerospace and also for GEC.
In his spare time he loved watching any type of sport on TV, especially cricket, of which he used to be a member of Lancashire Cricket Club and also football, where he was a life-long Burnley fan. He also enjoyed going away on holiday.
The dearly loving husband of Barbara, a much loved father of Mark, Lesley and Nicola, a dear father-in-law of Michael and Teresa, a treasured grandad of Marcus, Thomas, Millie, Abbie and Evie and also a cherished great-grandad of Lottie and Millie.
Allen will be very sadly missed by all who knew him.
A celebration of life service will be held at 1.45pm, on Thursday, March 12, at Burnley Crematorium.
Family flowers only please, but donations in memory of Allen are welcomed for the Alzheimer’s Society or Cancer Research c/o funeral director Barton & Hallworth Funeral Service, The Old Foxhill, 136-8 Union Road, Oswaldtwistle.
STUART NEWTON
ON Friday, February 14, in Royal Preston
Hospital, Stuart, aged 65, of Wordsworth Close, Oswaldtwistle.
Stuart was an engineer for several companies finishing his working life at All Speeds Engineering in Clayton-le-Moors in 2007.
Stuart enjoyed socialising with friends in Oswaldtwistle as well as walking, holidaying and spending time with his family.
He leaves his loving wife Susan, his muchloved children Scott, Carla, Becky, Amy and Abigail as well as his 13 grandchildren and great-grandchild.
The funeral cortege will leave from his home address at 11am prior to a celebration of life service, which will be led by Mrs Janice Ramsbottom at Accrington Crematorium on Thursday, March 12 at 11.40am.
Family flowers only please, donations in favour of Critical Care Unit, Royal Preston Hospital c/o funeral director Mrs S Newton, Oswaldtwistle Funeral Services, 235 Union
Road, Oswaldtwistle.
ALAN ALMOND
ON Wednesday, February 26, Alan aged 79, of Great
Harwood, sadly passed away in Royal Blackburn Hospital after a long illness bravely borne.
Dearly loved husband of Carole, he was much loved dad and father-inlaw of Debs and Tony, Paul, Jaks and Ray, dear step-father to Janine, Shaun and Lisa, wonderful grandad to James, Kyle, Lewis, Tara, Cory and Lexie, also a great-grandad to Oliver, a loving brother to Robert, the late Margaret and Albert, uncle to Alan, Martin, David and Carol.
Alan was also a dear brother-in-law and friend to many.
Alan worked for many years as an engineer at
Matthew Brown Brewery in Blackburn and also for Wirral Foods in Great Harwood.
He will be sadly missed but fondly remembered by all who had the pleasure of knowing and loving him.
A funeral service and committal will take place at Accrington Crematorium on Wednesday, March 11 at 1pm.
Family flowers only please. Donations if desired in memory of Alan to The East Lancashire Hospice c/o funeral director Champ Funeral Services, Bank House, Whalley Road, Clayton-le-Moors.
MELVYN COULSON
MR Melvyn Coulson, of Lister Street, Accrington, died peacefully at home on Wednesday, February 12, aged 72.
He was a painter and decorator and in his spare time he enjoyed snooker, socialising and sailing.
Husband to Anne, he was father to Melvyn and Philip, grandfather of Jamie, Marcelle, Sharna, Harrison, Halle and Brannon, greatgrandfather to Abbi, Macy-Leigh, Charlie and Brayden-Lee, brother of the late Bob, Raymond and Gary, also to sister Davina and an uncle to many nieces and nephews.
The funeral and cremation was due to take place on Thursday,
March 5, at Accrington Crematorium at 10.20am conducted by the minister Katy Carmichael.
Family flowers only please, donations are requested to the RNLI.
Funeral director: Kirby and Hughes Funeral Director, 228 Blackburn Road, Accrington.
PHILIP HINDLE
MR Philip Hindle, of Hill Street., Baxenden, died on Sunday, March 1 aged 84, at his home.
He leaves his wife Patricia.
A well known gentleman from Baxenden and formerly
Oswaldtwistle.
He worked as a PSV driver for Viscount Central Coaching in Burnley before retirement.
He enjoyed caravanning with his wife Pat.
The funeral will take place on Tuesday, March 10 with service and cremation at Accrington Crematorium at 1.40pm, officiated by Rev Stephen Brown.
Family flowers only, donations if desired are for the RSPCA c/o funeral director Josephine Durning for Johnson, Durning and Woods Funeral Service, Haslingden.