GAZETTE & HERALD: MOURNERS flocked to pay tribute to popular Sally Watson and share fond memories of her life on Friday.

Family and friends packed in to St John the Baptist Church, Foxham, to bid farewell to her after she lost her battle with cancer last Sunday.

"We're not going to be all mournful," her husband Rob said before the funeral. "She's had such a fantastic life. She packed an amazing amount into it. She did everything.

"If she saw something that interested her she would want to do it and if someone said she couldn't she would find a way of doing it anyway.

"She wouldn't be put off. Anything she took on she always did a really good job of it, then she'd help other people to learn."

Mrs Watson, 57, of West End in Foxham, died after battling for two years with breast cancer, which spread to her bones and liver, and a brain tumour.

She had been treated for breast cancer in 2001 and was in remission when she was involved in a serious car accident on the eve of her 55th birthday, leaving her severely disabled and unable to walk.

The stress caused by this is thought to have reactivated the cancer cells and it eventually spread to other parts of her body. The couple were told there was little modern medicine could do.

Mrs Watson left behind a son, Edward, 19, and daughter Mary, 21.

Edward said: "Before the car accident her main interests were aerobics and swimming, but afterwards it became curry and Chinese every Friday night to make up for it."

Mr Watson, 57, said: "We loved dinner parties. We'd think of a country then a throw a dinner party around that theme, for all our friends. We would go on a big shopping spree then come back and cook together."

Mr Watson told how she had a lot of influence on other people's lives and always thought the best of everybody.

He said: "She was very friendly. She would never judge anybody.

"She liked walking, cycling, swimming, scuba diving, rock climbing, mountaineering, anything outdoors."

"We went to Florida and she just decided she wanted to do scuba diving, so she did," said Edward.

"She wouldn't eat fish for a while after she'd seen them swimming around."

Mr Watson said: "She did all the tiling and decorating in our house. She had such original ideas. She was a very artistic lady. Once I'd been in Scandinavia for two weeks and when I got home she'd completely done the kitchen."

Edward added: "She did everything in the house. When we moved in there was no electricity and no fireplace. She really liked having it how she wanted."

As mourners left the funeral on Friday the Commitments' hit, Mustang Sally, rang out.

"It's her name and she liked the music," Edward said.

"We didn't want anything too downcast. We didn't want people to be upset.

"It's more of a celebration of life. We wanted to cheer people up slightly at the end. She wouldn't want it to be sombre anyway."

The family moved to Wiltshire in 1987, where Mrs Watson worked at Hills Property Limited in Marlborough. "She really enjoyed it," Mr Watson said.

The couple had been married for 33 years and Mr Watson said: "I remember our first date. It was January 11 1968, it was a Wednesday.

"We went to a pub called The George. It was very cold and icy. She had to hold my arm tight so she didn't fall over she said!"

A collection in Mrs Watson's memory was made for Dorothy House Hospice Care, who cared for Mrs Watson.

So far £1,900 has been raised, which Mr Watson said was tremendous.

He said: "Dorothy House do a marvellous job, no-one knows when they might need help.

"They want to build an extension to their hospice to try and help more people."