Tributes are paid to ‘Mrs Severn Stoke’ (From Ledbury Reporter)

Tributes are paid to ‘Mrs Severn Stoke’

2:20pm Wednesday 29th February 2012 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of a Worcestershire woman who was always at the heart of life in her village.

Nora Skeys, who was 87, became so entwined with goings on in her home village that people came to refer to her as Mrs Severn Stoke.

Growing up in nearby Clifton, Mrs Skeys was a keen member of Severn Stoke Guide Group and a regular at St Denys Church, where she married her husband Albert.

They lived in Eckington, near Pershore, for eight years, where they had sons Brian and Derek and daughter Jane, before moving back to Clifton.

There they re-started the Severn Stoke Scouting group, with Mrs Skeys looking after the Guides and Brownies and her husband the Scouts. She later became leader of the Cub pack and founded the Severn Stoke Beavers.

Mrs Skeys was a member of teh Women’s Land Army during World War II and was widowed in 1968 aged just 43 when her husband was killed in a car accident.

This saw her devote even more time to Guiding and Scouting.

“Her dedicated service saw her receive the Medal of Merit in 1975, the Wood Badge in 1982 and the Silver Acorn in 1994, before her outstanding achievement, the MBE for service in the community came in 2000,” said her daughter Jane Hall.

After retiring from Guiding and Scouting Mrs Skeys re-started the Trefoil Guild in Pershore and was active with Earls Croome WI. She frequently entered cakes and preserves into competitions and was in high demand to bake for special occasions.

She died peacefully, aged 87, at Norton Hall Nursing Home, in Norton, on Friday, January 20.

Her funeral at St Denys was attended by more than 150 people.

Mrs Hall said: “It is the end of an era for Severn Stoke. Mum was a popular, much-loved woman who devoted her life to others and touched the hearts of many. She will be greatly missed by all.”