A fond farewell to ex-Mayor who gave much to her town

Mary Graham, 85, passed away on Sunday, September 16. Her funeral was yesterday at St Paul’s Roman Catholic Church and she was interred at Alnwick Cemetery.

Mary was well known in the town and she has been described as a committed person who had the best interests of Alnwick at heart.

She gave the best part of two decades of service to the town council, before she retired in 2010. During that time, she served as Mayor on four occasions, including a two-year spell between 2007 and 2009, as well as serving on number of town-council committees.

The current Mayor of Alnwick, Alan Symmonds, said: “We were all saddened to hear of Mary’s passing. She was an exceptionally dedicated and committed town councillor who always had the best interests of Alnwick at heart. She had a reputation for running meetings firmly, but compassionately, and she always encouraged people to give their views.

“Mary gave an outstanding 19 years of service to the town council before retiring. She was well known in the town, she was involved with many town organisations and she will be sorely missed.”

Mary was a long-standing member of the Rotary Club of Alnwick, before stepping down a few years ago. Member Ken Moore, a former club president, said she was a valuable member.