Horsforth son pays tribute to former Shipley newsagent Ethel who dies at 94 (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Horsforth son pays tribute to former Shipley newsagent Ethel who dies at 94

9:30am Tuesday 10th January 2012 in Shipley By Marc Meneaud, Aire Valley Chief Reporter

Tributes have been paid to a great-grandmother who ran a well-known Shipley newsagents for more than two decades.

Ethel O’Hara, who ran the shop in Otley Road for many years with her late husband Jim, has died at the age of 94.

The great grandmother-of-three died in her sleep on New Year’s Eve after spending Christmas surrounded by her family.

Her son Raymond, 75, from Horsforth, paid tribute to a hard-working “matriarch” who loved life behind the counter.

He said: “We were all together for Christmas Day lunch and she had a great time.

“She died comfortable and happy with all her family around her.”

Ethel and Jim retired in 1980, closing their newsagents on their 45th wedding anniversary.

They lived in Alexandra Road, Shipley, and built up a huge circle of friends at Shipley Conservative Association, Baildon Bowling Club and Shipley Town Football Club, which Mr O’Hara ran for 22 years.

Ethel moved to Shipley from Sunderland, aged 16, to find a job during the depression of the 1930s.

As a teenager, she met her future husband, who had also come to Shipley to find work.

They married in 1935 when he was 19 and she was 18 and settled down in Henry Street, a row of back-to-back terraces – now demolished – on the site where the Noble Comb pub now stands.

Son Raymond said: “They had it tough, there is no doubt about that because they lived through the war years and never had any money at all.”

Mr O’Hara died in 1987, aged 74, and his funeral attracted hundreds of mourners.

Mrs O’Hara became a keen traveller, often visiting her daughter Maureen, 67, a psychology professor in California, and her son-in-law, Bob Lucas.

She passed away at Bedford Court residential home in Horsforth, leaving behind Raymond, Maureen, two grandsons and three great-grandchildren.

Her funeral will be at Rawdon Crematorium on Friday at 12.20pm.