FORMER Abingdon mayor Patricia Hobby was remembered as a councillor, a teacher, and a mother at a special memorial service.

More than 150 people gathered at St Nicolas Church on Friday to remember the former Northcourt Ward town councillor, who died in July.

Pat Hobby, who was 67, had been a councillor since 2003 and served as chairman of the Abingdon in Bloom sub-committee. From May 2009 she was also the town’s mayor.

The mother of two and grandmother of three was a teacher at St Nicolas CofE Primary School and Rush Common Primary School for more than 20 years.

She was also a supporter of the Abingdon Hospital League of Friends.

Her son Russell Hobby, 38, was touched by the service and the turnout.

He said: “It was a lovely thing for the town to do and it meant a lot.”

He added: “She had a sense of duty. It was a very old fashioned thing and she never wanted it for personal recognition or advancement.

“She just thought she had to get out there and help.

“It was a normal progression from being a teacher.”

Friend and fellow town councillor Lorraine Oates said Mrs Hobby was responsible for the success in the Britain in Bloom competition.

She said: “She was a very hard worker. I took over from her and she was a very hard act to follow.

“She was a very quiet person but when she did something she put her whole self into it.”

She added: “She just loved teaching and being with people.”

Town clerk Nigel Warner said: “The turnout showed how well-known, and respected, she was in the town.

“As a teacher at St Nicolas she was really well liked and respected so she knew a lot of people before she joined the town council.”

At the memorial service, he said: “We at the council miss Pat – a popular, hard working and much loved member of our community. She served our town well over the years through her work and in her different roles as a teacher, and through the work on the council.

“We all benefited from knowing her.“ Former headteacher at St Nicolas Primary, Roger Fell, said: “She was an outstanding teacher and a loyal servant of the school community.

“She was a special lady and will be greatly missed.”