TRIBUTES flooded in today to the inspirational Mary Butterwick, founder of the Butterwick Hospice movement in the North-East, following her death on Wednesday.

The 91-year-old, of Stockton, will be honoured in her home town with plans for the town hall’s flag to be flown at half mast on the day of her funeral, while books of condolence have already been set up at both the Stockton and Bishop Auckland hospice centres.

Following the death of her beloved husband, John, from a brain tumour in 1979, Mrs Butterwick became renowned after selling her family home so she could set up a day care centre for the very ill.

As a result, John Butterwick Hospice Care was founded in 1984 and since then the Stockton and Bishop Auckland Adult Hospices and the Butterwick Children’s Hospice have been opened.

Mrs Butterwick has been described as an inspirational woman who has left a wonderful legacy for the region’s people.

Jackie Firth, publicity and marketing manager of the charity, who knew the campaigner for more than 18 years, said the whole team had been affected by her death.

“She was a very kindly person who had a huge bear hug she would give to people and when Mary smiled her whole face lit up,” she said.

“She was just so welcoming but underneath that there was this steely tenacity about her as well – she knew exactly what she wanted and she knew how to either motivate or encourage or even bully people into getting what she wanted.”

“She had this vision in her mind of what she wanted a hospice to be and when she explained it to me in 1979, when her husband died, she said about how they sort of treated his illness but did not treat him like a person with all of those fears and emotions that come with it,” she added.

“For her family that brought it home in the hardest way really - that the care that was being delivered was nowhere near adequate at that stage in somebody’s life.”

Mrs Firth said Mrs Butterwick had had a caring influence on thousands of lives in the region and visited almost every day until her own health deteriorated a few years ago.

She said it was fitting that Mrs Butterwick passed away peacefully “at the hospice she created”, surrounded by her family.

Stockton North MP Alex Cunningham described Mrs Butterwick as a “formidable lady” who he first met 40 years ago.

He said: “She was a dedicated Christian and she put her resources into developing a hospice and now has the most wonderful legacy that she’s left for members of our community – I was very fond of her.”

Sue Snowdon, Lord Lieutenant of County Durham, said Mrs Butterwick was “a remarkable, determined lady, absolutely dedicated to hospice care” who “leaves an incredible legacy from which the local community will benefit from for many years to come”.

Councillor Bob Cook, leader of Stockton Borough Council, added: “Mary’s tireless compassion and devotion to the care of people with life-limiting illnesses and their families was truly inspirational.”