A great-grandmother who cycled every day to visit her husband’s grave has been killed while out on her bike.
Neighbours say they would see Margaret Ward, 77, known as ‘Maggie’, ride her bike from the Lakes Estate in Handforth to Wilmslow Cemetery, where she would keep a graveside vigil for her late husband Bob.
She would often give a friendly wave as she rode  through the village.
This is not the first tragedy to strike the Ward family. It is believed Mrs Ward’s son was killed in a motorbike accident in Greece and that her husband too died in an accident.
It is thought that she was on her way to the cemetery on Saturday morning when she was hit by a Porsche Boxster as it turned into the Porsche Centre.
Police say the car was driven by a 50-year-old woman from Manchester.
Mrs Ward was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital but died later from her injuries.
The driver was unhurt and no arrests have been made. The incident has sparked new calls for traffic calming measures on the road.
Susan Clarke-Berry, a Handforth resident, said:  “Mrs Ward went every day to the cemetery to talk to her husband.”
Marian Wood, from Wood’s Paper Shop on Wilmslow Road, said she was known to everyone in Handforth.
She said: “She was known as the lady on the bike and would wave at everyone. She was so friendly and we are all upset.”
Mrs Ward, who has a son living Poynton, was a caretaker at Wilmslow Grange Primary School for years and was still known to children at the school.
She visited Rick Green Cycles for repairs and made regular trips to Shenton’s Farm Shop.
Its manager Chris Shenton said he sold her flowers for her husband’s grave. He said: “They always had to be yellow, everything was yellow, her house, the plants and the flowers.
“I’d known her for years and she was very well known at the school.
“She always went to the grave at about the same time.”
Paul Green, from Rick Green Cycles, said: “She must have worn out four bikes riding to her husband’s grave in the time I knew her.
“She told me it was her goal in life to visit him every day.”
Margaret and Bob were originally from Shropshire and had been living in Handforth for 37 years
A statement from her family said: ‘Margaret worked for many years at a local school as an auxiliary and loved being around children.
“She was especially overjoyed to recently have two great-grandsons who were an important part of her life along with her other close family.
‘Her hobbies were knitting, the music of Mario Lanza, football, tennis, cycling, walking and decorating, which she was particularly very good at.
‘She especially enjoyed shopping for a bargain and was an expert on the area’s shopping centres and markets.
‘Margaret will be so very missed by her family and friends in the local area and her family in Shropshire’.
Councillors are calling for traffic calming on the road.
Coun Barry Burkhill said:  “This is a tragedy.  I’ve had concerns about that stretch for a while.
“It’s dangerous when drivers come across a parked car and have to get around.
“Cars do tend to speed along there and I’ve asked for traffic calming measures.”
The accident was at 10.26am on Saturday, November 24. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact Eastern Traffic Unit on 101 quoting incident 348.