...was a truly incredible woman and illuminated the lives of everyone who knew her. Whenever she entered a room she made her presence felt with her sharp intellect and biting sense of humour.

A wonderful conversationalist, she had an Aristotelian knowledge of a whole range of subjects whether about Saudi Arabian culture or the latest Manchester United signings.

With Auntie Maureen there was no such thing as a generation gap and she was always able to mingle effortlessly with my school and university friends, earning the magnum cum laude of being “cool”.

For 21 years of my life Auntie Maureen was a daily presence and had as much influence on my character and principles as my mother and father. In a sense she was a kind of third parent, such was the extent of her guidance; I will be the luckiest father in the world if my children can have an Auntie Maureen of their own.

Not a day goes by when I don’t think about her in some way. Her voice still reverberates in my ears, only now it sounds from the heart and not the hallway. Although she has left us, we have not lost her for her legacy lives on: that we are all better people for having known her and when our minds turn to sadness we can console ourselves that she still exists within us.