Journalist was a campaigner with integrity
JACKIE Gaynor spent much of her life fighting for the rights of readers in regional journalism.
And it was with that same determination she defied medics to spend her final days at home, where she died of cancer on March 3, aged 63, in the arms of husband Carl.
During nearly five decades working for newspapers in Stockport, Macclesfield and Wilmslow, she was known for her compassion and integrity - and will be remembered by countless journalists for her inspiring mentoring.
Husband Carl, a photographer, told the M.E.N.: “I was with her at the end. She opened her eyes and looked at me, then closed them and her face became peaceful as she slipped away. She was just a beautiful person and it was a joy to know her. I was a very, very lucky person to meet her.”
Recalling Jackie’s pride in her two daughters, Hayley and Chloe Doran, Carl described her intelligence, depth and gift for talking to people, adding: “We were together for 20 years, married for 10. We never had a major fall out. We had plenty of heated discussions, but we could always come together at the end and smile and hug and laugh. She could always see the light side of life.
“People who worked with her throughout her career as a journalist would say the same - I never heard one bad word against her.
“She went into journalism to confront her shyness, she always had that feeling of taking a big step to meet people but it never held her back. She fought it by being more outward, by reaching out to people. She could always see both sides of the story, even if she didn’t agree with it.”
Carl, who lived with Jackie in Ramsbottom, added: “At the end she knew she was dying, but she was the strongest of us all. I will miss her every day.”
Born in Cheadle, Stockport, Jackie joined the Wilmslow Advertiser in 1972, aged 17. In 1977, she moved to the town’s rival newspaper the Macclesfieldbased County Express, which would later be taken over by the Express series.
She went on to work as a reporter and sub-editor for the Wilmslow Express and Advertiser, and other titles owned by the Guardian Media Group.
Jackie later became chief subeditor at the Stockport Express and in around 2002, four decades of dedication paid off when she became editor of the Wilmslow Express and returned to the office on Grove Avenue, Wilmslow, where her career had begun.
Declining her own office and choosing instead to sit with reporters, colleague and close friend Pat Hills recalls her words at the time: “Who’d have thought? I’m not sure I’ll make a good boss. I don’t like telling people what to do.”
In fact, she was to become an inspirational leader, training dozens of reporters to the top of their game until her retirement in 2011.
Betty Anderson, former news editor at the Wilmslow Express, described Jackie as a popular and respected part of the community, adding: “To those who worked alongside her, she was a true friend.”
Jackie’s funeral will take place at Blackley Crematorium on Thursday at 2pm. Attendees have been asked to wear purple. The wake will be at The Puss in Boots on Nangreave Road in Offerton, Stockport, from 4pm. Her family has asked for donations to Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.