Service celebrates life of Dewsbury Celtic stalwart Marceline Walmsley

Friends and loved ones packed Dewsbury Moor Crematorium for a service on December 30, with some having no choice but to listen from outside.

Players from St Helen’s, Batley Bulldogs and Celtic were among those who paid their respects .

Her husband John said: “It was a very big turnout. We’ve been able to draw from it.”

Mrs Walmsley (née Welsh) had been an active supporter of Celtic for many years, helping to manage junior teams and serving on the committee.

Mr Walmsley said: “She was a very outgoing person. She liked being involved and being amongst her friends.”

Born in Glasgow in 1957, Mrs Walmsley was the second eldest of four children.

The family moved to West Yorkshire when she was four after her coal miner father found work in local pits.

Mrs Walmsley studied at St Joseph’s Primary School and Earlsheaton Secondary Modern before working at Woolworths and SR Gents.

She met Mr Walmsley at Zhivago’s nightclub in Dewsbury in 1977, and the couple married at St Thomas More Church in Chickenley in 1980.

They had three children – Lisa, Liam and Alex.

It was through the children that Mrs Walmsley became involved with Carlinghow football club and later Celtic.

Mr Walmsley said: “Marceline came a manager for the juniors. She stayed with the age group of our two boys.

“Later she became involved in the fundraising and presentation side of things.”

A supportive mum to all her children, she was proud to see Liam and Alex go on to play for Featherstone Rovers and St Helen’s respectively.

Her daughter Lisa said: “She would go out of her way to help other people.”

Mrs Walmsley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000, receiving treatment for four different cancers in the years that followed.

Mr Walmsley said: “She was very determined and carried on with what she enjoyed.”

She passed away at home in Chadwick Crescent, Dewsbury, on December 20.

Mr Walmsley said: “The fact that we were with her and, of course, the support that we’ve had from friends and family has been a comfort.”

A collection at the funeral raised more than £350 for the Cavell Unit at Dewsbury and District Hospital.