FAMILY and friends remembered Brenda Brown at a memorial service for the community stalwart.

Brenda, from Wilmslow, who was well-known for her roles with Wilmslow Guides, St Batholomew’s Church and Wilmslow’s Secondary Modern Schools, died on December 14, aged 88.

The funeral was held at Macclesfield Crematorium, followed by a memorial service at St Bartholomew's Church, which was conducted by the Reverend Roger Yates.

Brenda was born in Tynemouth, and lived in Wilmslow following her marriage in 1952 to Alan Pollard.

She ran Wilmslow Rangers and the 1st Wilmslow Guide company, becoming district commissioner for Wilmslow and then division commissioner, and was later involved at county level on the training committee.

She began attending St Bartholomew’s Church, where she was a sidesman, following her first marriage. She was the first woman warden at the church, and was later made a warden emeritus.

She was very much involved in the design and building of the new parish hall, and was on the parish hall committee for many years.

Brenda was secretary of the Deanery Synod, was at one time very active on the Gorsey Bank School PTA raising funds to build a swimming pool, and served on the governing body of both Wilmslow Secondary Modern Schools.

Her second marriage was to Cliff Brown in 1977, and she ran The Little Shop in Macclesfield for 10 years, which sold dolls' houses and miniatures.

Brenda had two children, Caroline Learmond and Deborah Pollard, and two stepchildren, Denise Albutt and John Brown.

Caroline said: “Brenda was no ordinary woman. Tall and elegant, she had many talents which she used in many roles. She engaged with the community and made things happen.

“After training with Lucie Clayton she became top house model at a store in Harrogate before she was married. Clothes were always her passion, and she became a skilled needlewoman.

“Many former Guides will remember her at camp, either in the rain in the early days, or in particular for a number of years at Llangwnadl in north Wales.

“It was largely her enthusiastic work with the Guides that led to her being invited to sit on the governing bodies of the two secondary schools. It also got her invited to have tea with The Queen.

“As well as running The Little Shop she helped Cliff in his new enterprise of making miniatures and attending many fairs around the country, where they both became very well-known.”

The family thanked the many people who attended the memorial service and those who helped with refreshments, fittingly in the parish hall.

Donations in memory, if desired, may be made to Marie Curie Cancer Care or East Cheshire Hospice, care of funeral directors Albert R Slack Ltd, Wilmslow.