Obituary: ‘Incredibly well-known’ Mirfield resident Jean Megahy dies aged 91 following lifetime of public service

Jean was born in Horbury during the ‘Great Blizzard’ of February 1933, to millworking parents before moving to Mirfield as a two-year-old.

She was the wife of former Kirklees Council Leader, Labour MEP and vice-president of the European Parliament, Tom Megahy.

The couple married in 1954 at Battyeford Methodist Chapel and had three children, Tom, now 68, and twins Robin and Alastair. Alastair sadly passed away in 2022, aged 64.

She was also a lifelong friend of Betty Boothroyd, the former Speaker of the House of Commons, who she was with at a debating contest in Leeds when she met her future husband.

And while Jean was supportive of her husband’s career, she became the first ever woman councillor on the Mirfield Urban District Council while also spending 35 years as a magistrate and 37 years at Mirfield High School as vice chair.

She was also the secretary at Battyeford Junior School, the treasurer at the church where she wed, as well as a Sunday School teacher for many years, with community leadership and involvement at the very heart of her character.

Her eldest son Tom told the Reporter Series:

“She really did try to live like treating other people as you would want to be treated. She had an enormous social circle and she had a lot of kind things said to her, very often by political opponents. You can disagree with someone but that doesn’t mean you have to fall out with them or not treat them properly. She was highly thought of.

“She had real strength and an absolute determination to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. Anything to do with discrimination, prejudice, people who are most vulnerable, we were brought up to speak up for those who couldn’t speak for themselves.

“She was one of life’s fighters who was incredibly well-known in Mirfield. She enjoyed meeting people and she was still driving her car until three weeks ago.

“We have some amazing memories.”

Jean, who had six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, passed away on Friday, April 19 after a short illness.

Details of her funeral arrangements are still to be confirmed.