Oundle woman, 59, dies eight weeks after being diagnosed with brain tumour

A family near Peterborough has been left heartbroken by the sudden demise of a beloved wife, mum and step-mum.

Thelma Quinn, from Barnwell, was as healthy and happy as any other 59-year-old a little over two months ago.

Tragically, the vivacious lady – described as someone who “always had a smile on her face” by family – was taken ill “suddenly and by surprise” on April 4.

“She was taken to Peterborough hospital where they quickly diagnosed a mass on her brain,” said Thelma's stepdaughter, Cheri Stringer.

“She was transferred to Addenbrookes where they operated on her early in the morning.”

Cheri explained doctors carried out further procedures following Thelma's initial operation to try and increase her chances of recovery - to no avail.

“Thelma never fully awoke,” she said: “However, she was definitely aware of us at her bedside.”

“We thought she was getting stronger but, on June 9, Thelma closed her eyes for the final time.”

Thelma’s sudden passing, Cheri noted, has left her family feeling like they “have had their whole world ripped apart.”

‘They were inseparable’

Born in Kettering hospital in 1964, Thelma spent her whole life living in Barnwell near Oundle, where she enjoyed a happy upbringing with her mum, Winnie, dad Gordon, and younger sister Marylin.

“Thelma was a keen horse rider and always loved her dogs and animals,” Cheri recalled.

Thelma had two children, Kerri and Holli from her first marriage. In 2000, she met Peter Quinn, who she went on to marry in 2001. The couple eventually merged their families, with Peter and his children Cheri and Danni, moving to Barnwell to become one family unit.

“She spent almost 25 happy years with my dad,” Cheri said: “They were inseparable.”

The couple welcomed daughter Elle to the family in 2005.

“The rest of us had left the family home and it became the three of them,” Cheri recalled.

A mother to three children and two stepchildren, and a grandmother to 16 grandchildren, family was the most important thing of all to Thelma.

“She loved nothing more than her family, her holidays, her dogs and animals,” Cheri said.

“She was passionate about everything and everyone that meant something to her.”

‘Everyone who met her, loved her’

Cheri has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral costs and give Thelma “the best send-off possible.”

“I set up the page to try to relieve some of the financial strain and worry that may be left with my dad now,” she said.

“It breaks my heart to see him so heartbroken,” she shared, adding: “She was the love of my dad's life.”

“His life will never be the same again.”

Cheri said the family would like Thelma to be remembered as a “kind-hearted, carefree and passionate person.”

“Everyone who met her, loved her.”

Anyone who would like to make a donation to the family’s GoFundMe page can do so via this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/23jtn-thelma?cdn-cache=0

Cheri has been moved by the kind generosity people have already shown over the past few days:

“We'd like to say a massive thank – as a family we are all so grateful for the love and support that we have received.”