COUNCILLORS, residents and members of the Droitwich Twinning Association showed their respect for former Droitwich mayor Eileen Hope, at her funeral, which was held on October in Worcester Crematorium on Monday, October 12.

Mrs Hope, who had stood on Droitwich Town Council for 28 years, serving as mayor in 1982 and 1985, and Wychavon District Council, passed away last month at the age of 78.

She had been one of the founder members of the town’s Twinning Association making some of the first trips over to Bad Ems in Germany to make links with the community there.

The service, which was led by the Rev Nigel Byard included a tribute to Eileen, along with a poem read by her grandson Tom, while the coffin entered the crematorium to music from the hit West End musical Les Miserables.

Councillor Richard Morris, said he was influenced to become a local councillor by Eileen. He said: “She was great, she was engaging. You lit up when you were with Eileen, she was a shining light, you would immediately get enraptured. She was always quite headstrong, and she knew what she wanted, but she always managed to do it in a personable way. She was good at recognising the importance of people in a community, and she was a good friend.”

Eileen had been a good friend of Glenise Noyes, and her husband., and current Droitwich and Wychavon councillor, Tom Noyes, added: “She was just bright and cheerful, and she was well liked, well loved. If you wanted an opinion, you wanted the job done, go and see Eileen.”