Son pays tribute to former mayoress

FORMER Mayor Joe Farquhar and his Mayoress, Sarah Farquhar.

TRIBUTES have been paid to a former mayoress of Oldham, who died on Tuesday after a short illness. She was 87.

Sarah Cribes Farquhar was the mayoress of Oldham in 1995-6 while her son, Joe, was mayor.

Mr Farquhar, a former Oldham councillor and magistrate, said: “She was a very kind and caring woman who would do anything for anybody. After my father passed away over 20 years ago, we became increasingly close and were always there for one another. She was the best mother in the world.”

Born in Portknockie, Scotland in 1927, Mrs Farquhar (nee Pirie) married the late Joseph Mair Farquhar, a regular in the RAF, and had two children, Joe and Sheila.

The family eventually settled in Oldham. Mrs Farquhar was a grandmother of three and a great-grandmother of six.

Her son said: “As a bachelor, I needed a mayoress and my mother stepped in and did an amazing job.

“With her gift for meeting people and being at ease with everyone, she was a natural.”

During her time as mayoress, she was able to visit Landsbergh-am-Lech, one of Oldham’s twin towns in Germany, attended the Buckingham Palace garden party and meet Princess Anne, Alan Titchmarsh and Ronnie Corbett.

Her funeral service will be held at the United Reformed Church Oldham on April 17