Mum found dead 'loved to help people'

An 84-year-old woman found dead at a property was a "loving mum" who volunteered for two decades at a daycare centre, her family said.

Rita Rowley was discovered in Prees Higher Heath in Whitchurch, Shropshire, on 27 January.

An 80-year-old man found at the address with life-threatening injuries was arrested on suspicion of murder and remained in hospital in a critical condition, with police saying they were not looking for anyone else in connection with her death.

Her children said their mother, who married their late father Colin in Malta while he was in the RAF, always worked hard and "loved to help people".

She gave her time to an Age UK centre in Whitchurch for more than 20 years and also volunteered to drive people to appointments.

The seamstress would take them shopping or do it for them and help them with their household tasks, her children added.

Along with their late father, she raised them "to be caring and kind" and their mother had "an enduring Catholic faith" and "a great sense of community".

She loved music, dancing, gardens, flowers and animals and both their parents had a great love of travel.

"Mum bravely moved to a different country, leaving her family back home in Malta," they added.

"Mum worked hard as a seamstress and had a great love of fashion; she was always a smartly dressed woman."

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