A memorial bench has been unveiled to remember a much-loved member of the community.
Louise Booth was a community hero on the Weston estate, where she lived on Gilchrist Avenue with husband Ron.
She ran various community groups, perhaps most notably a popular junior football club she organised with Ron.
The great grandmother of five died aged 78 in March 2015 after a brain haemorrhage.
And now local volunteers from Cheshire Streetwise, which helps homeless people in Macclesfield and runs a furniture recycling project, have raised enough money to install a memorial bench in her honour.
One of the charity’s shops, where they collect and sell furniture as well as run training courses for people to gain skills, is on Gilchrist Avenue, where Louise used to live. The bench is outside the shop.
An unveiling ceremony has been held, with councillor Alift Harewood, who represents Macclesfield West and Ivy and lives on the estate, speaking a few words before Louise’s husband Ron cut the ribbon.
Maggie Falconer, from Cheshire Streetwise, said: “We’ve come to know Ron very well since opening the Gilchrist Avenue shop and we arranged for a bench to be made by Louie and Phil from the Bridgend community centre in Bollington.
“We had a plaque engraved and the bench will sit in front of the shop for anyone to sit and pass the time of day.
“Louise was very active in the community and is much missed by Ron and his family.
“It’s nice to be part of this community and bring people together.
“After the bench was unveiled, we all enjoyed a catch-up and a buffet with Louise’s friends and family.”
Louise was born in Manchester in 1937 and married Ron in 1954. In the late 60s, the couple moved to Victoria Park, where they set up Victoria Park Youth Club and Victoria Park Football Club.
Louise worked as a psychiatric nurse at Parkside and a midwife. In 1973, the family moved to Bollington and in 1989 briefly to Spain but returned to the Weston in 1995.
Louise set up the Weston Tenants’ Association in 1999, when she and Ron also set up Henbury and Broken Cross Junior Football Club. In 2006, Louise helped launch Weston Development Group, which opened a sports area for children.
