A heartbroken family have paid tribute to their "easy-going and hard-working" mum, who has died from coronavirus.

Evelyn Crook, who would have turned 78 today, passed away on Tuesday, April 28, after suddenly becoming ill.

The former hairdresser had been in Victory Care Home, in Nelson Court, Chatham, for two years and leaves behind her husband Peter, children Richard and Philippa Crook and Alison Parkes, as well as eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Evelyn had lived in the Medway Towns her whole life, going to school in Gillingham, before moving to Chatham and meeting Peter. They were married for 58 years.

Her son Richard admitted it had hit the family hard.

He said: "I've gone back to work at the moment to try and take my mind off it. It's been really hard, especially with planning the funeral and everything.

"My dad's bed-ridden at the moment, so it's been even harder for him.

"She was a big part of the family - a hard-working, easy-going and strangely reserved woman."

"Mum had been in the care home for two years and was particularly well, but the illness just came out of nowhere and she would stop eating. It's like coronavirus was the final straw.

"She was a big part of the family – a hard-working, easy-going and strangely reserved woman.

"She loved her knitting and gardening and was always interested in archaeology and astrology. She was in to all the Mystic Meg stuff."

Evelyn's funeral will be held on Tuesday, May 26, with only a handful of immediate family allowed to attend.

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