Although she lost her brother Arthur in the Normandy Landings in 1944 and her son Marcel died after a footballing accident aged 16, she never dwelt on such things but escaped into a fantasy world of dolls, teddies, fairies, butterflies, flowers, fancy pens, clocks and ornaments – anything that was bright and sparkly.

She loved sparkly clothes and trinkets and called her dolls, ornaments, teddies and fairies 'diddies'.

She loved people and was always full of chatter. She went to Disneyland Paris and thought it was magical, particularly the ride called 'It's a Small World' which featured singing dolls from all over the world.

And so Monica's final journey continued the fairyland theme she loved – a pink casket with fairies on it and floral tributes in the shape of butterflies, and pink and white helium balloons with butterflies on were released at each place the procession stopped along the route to the Methodist Church in Caistor. Daughter Marilyn Owens said Monica would have loved every aspect of her final journey as she was always as bright and sparkly as the things she surrounded herself with.

She died after a short illness following a fall at home. The former Caistor Grammar School dinner lady grew up in Binbrook and moved to Caistor in the 1970s when she married her third husband Cyril.

She leaves two daughters from her first marriage to Bob Vyse, Marilyn Owens and Madaleine Fox, and grandson James Hewson who she idolised and who sang a tribute at
the funeral.