Staff at the Macclesfield Express have been remembering former colleague Jackie Gaynor following her tragic death.
Jackie, 63, was a highly respected journalist and a popular member of the paper’s reporting team during the 1980s and 1990s.
She died in the arms of her husband Carl on March 3 at their home in Ramsbottom after a cancer battle.
Born in Cheadle, Stockport, Jackie joined the Wilmslow Advertiser in 1972, aged 17.
In 1977, she moved to the Macclesfield-based County Express, which would later be taken over by the Express series.
She went on to work as a reporter and sub-editor for the Wilmslow Express and Advertiser, and other titles owned by the Guardian Media Group.
Jackie later became chief sub-editor at the Stockport Express and in around 2002, four decades of dedication paid off when she became editor of the Wilmslow Express and returned to the office on Grove Avenue, Wilmslow, where her career had begun. She retired in 2011.
She was a highly regarded journalist - and will be remembered by countless journalists as an inspirational mentor.
Former Macclesfield Express news editor Pat Hills said: “She adored her job and was the most conscientious and hard working person you could meet. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt and on many occasions she got through to those who resolutely refused to talk to the press. They trusted her.”
Betty Anderson, former assistant editor at the Wilmslow Express, described Jackie as a popular and respected part of the community, adding: “To those who worked alongside her, she was a true friend.”
Express editor Gareth Tidman said: “Jackie was a respected, senior figure in the newsroom when I first joined the Macclesfield Express as a junior reporter. She was someone all the reporters looked up to and her style was very much to encourage not criticise.”
Jackie's husband Carl, a photographer, described Jackie as a 'beautiful person' and a 'joy' to know.
He said: “I was with her at the end. She opened her eyes and looked at me, then closed them and her face became peaceful as she slipped away. She was just a beautiful person and it was a joy to know her. I was a very, very lucky person to meet her.”
Recalling Jackie’s pride in her two daughters, Hayley and Chloe Doran, Carl described her intelligence, depth and gift for talking to people, adding: “We were together for 20 years, married for 10. We never had a major fall out. We had plenty of heated discussions, but we could always come together at the end and smile and hug and laugh. She could always see the light side of life.
“People who worked with her throughout her career as a journalist would say the same - I never heard one bad word against her.
“She went into journalism to confront her shyness, she always had that feeling of taking a big step to meet people but it never held her back. She fought it by being more outward, by reaching out to people. She could always see both sides of the story, even if she didn’t agree with it.”
Carl, who lived with Jackie in Ramsbottom, added: “At the end she knew she was dying, but she was the strongest of us all. I will miss her every day.”
Jackie’s funeral will take place at Blackley Crematorium on Thursday at 2pm. Attendees have been asked to wear purple. The wake will be at The Puss in Boots on Nangreave Road in Offerton, Stockport, from 4pm. Her family has asked for donations to Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.
