The daughter of a Brentwood woman who died last week aged 107 has paid tribute to her.

Yvonne Gutteridge passed away peacefully in Hedgerows Nursing Home, Brentwood; she had lived in the town since 1903.

Born Yvonne Nunn, she married Alec Gutteridge shortly after the First World War.

He died soon afterwards, however, leaving her widowed at the age of 32 with two young children to bring up.

Forced to support the family alone Mrs Gutteridge relied on her musical skills and became a professional violinist, accompanying the early silent movies and then embarking on a career as a concert violinist.

Both her children, Geoffrey, 78, and Joan, 77, still live in Brentwood.

Joan worked for over 30 years in the United States, but returned almost ten years ago to help care for her mother after she had a stroke.

She described her mother as a very private person who avoided publicity wherever possible, but said now was the right time to pay her a public tribute, explaining: "She had a very hard time bringing us up, I can only admire her that she kept the two of us.

"She was a very good violinist but above all she was an excellent mother."

A Requiem Mass will be held for Mrs Gutteridge in Brentwood Cathedral this Friday at 9:15am.

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