FRIENDS have paid tribute to a “remarkable” Chester woman who has died aged 105.
Gladys Harrison, who had lived in Garden Lane, was described as a “very active” woman who walked to church every Sunday despite her grand old age. She died on Sunday after a brief period of ill health
The Garden Lane Methodist Church member, who had lived through two world wars, was born Gladys Rogers on March 25, 1906. She was the youngest of eight children from Greasby, Wirral and had left school at 14 to work at Moreton Post Office, Wirral, earning six shillings a week.
At 21, Gladys moved to Liverpool to live with her older sister and worked for her brother’s building firm.
She married Harry Reginald Harrison at Ainsdale Congregational Church in Lancashire on August 22, 1953 and they settled in Chester.
Former MP for Chester, Christine Russell, who had known Gladys for more than 25 years, said: “She was a remarkable woman. We always had a personal bond between us because we shared the same birthday.
“When I was a councillor Gladys would always stop me in the street and talk about local issues. She was just a great member of the local community and very public-spirited.
“She was also remarkable because despite her advance in years, she was always so cheerful and was always thought of as having a very positive outlook on life. She was an absolute role model for older people.”
Peter Linsey, of Grey Friars, Chester, who attended the same church as Gladys, said: “She was a lovely individual who had all her faculties right up to the end.
“She used to walk to church, which was a matter of 200 to 300 yards, but as long as she had an arm to support her she did it, even to the time she was 105.
“She had a good sense of humour. She was very humble and was just delightful.”
The funeral will be held on Thursday, July 21, at 11am at Chester Crematorium followed by a service of thanksgiving at Garden Lane Methodist Church at 12.15pm.