Friends and family said goodbye to tireless campaigner Frances Eatwell who passed away at the age of 85.
Mrs Eatwell, who had lived in Stanley Road, Benfleet, for 42 years, became known as the battling pensioner thanks to her efforts to save facilities at Southend Hospital.
Sad loss - friends and family gather to pay their respects to popular Frances Eatwell Picture: ROBIN WOOSEY
She got her nickname after collecting more than 11,000 signatures in protest at the possible closure of the hospital's cancer centre in 1986.
The former bus conductor for Eastern National collected the signatures in her spare time by standing outside supermarkets in Castle Point and surrounding areas.
Her son Adrian, 61, of Elm View Road, Benfleet, said: "She became so well known in the Castle Point area and she will be sorely missed by many."
Mrs Eatwell died in Parklands Nursing Home in Benfleet and was a keen photographer who had been a member of Benfleet Camera Club for many years, winning prizes for her pictures.
Her funeral took place last Thursday at Basildon.
Published Wednesday, January 22, 2003
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