MORE than £1,000 has been raised for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in memory of a remarkable long-standing employee of Tesco Express (and formerly One Stop) in the Ridgway, Eileen Goodchild, after she passed away in December.

The Ridgway store raised around £1,225 through a raffle and donations, with a further £250 being raised at Eileen’s funeral. This brought the grand total to around £1,500 which was donated to Phyllis Tuckwell, a charity that was very close to Eileen’s heart.

Tony Carpenter, director of marketing and communications at the charity, said: “We are really grateful for the donations we have received in memory of Eileen Goodchild.

“A donation to Phyllis Tuckwell is a special way to remember a loved one, knowing the money will go towards helping us provide the supportive and end of life care which we offer to local patients and families who are living with an advanced or terminal illness, such as cancer.”

The store also had a book of condolence with over 300 messages written, showing Eileen’s popularity among customers.

Eileen, who was born in Farnham, the youngest of 11 children, worked at the Ridgway supermarket for around 40 years, including long before it became a Tesco Express in 2004.

She was there from when the store was privately owned and worked her last shift just two weeks before she passed away on December 6, aged 88.

Stuart Varndell, the current store manager, said: “Eileen didn’t like flowers so there was a charitable donation at her funeral. She was stubborn but would do anything for anyone. Everyone’s grown up with her here.”

As well as being a colleague of Eileen’s at Tesco, Tina Pearson was a very close friend of hers. She described Eileen as “a character” and “a straight talker”, but that “she was lovely and an amazing lady, there’s not a lot around like her today”.

Tina continued: “She loved the customers and working here, she never once used her illness as an excuse, she just ignored it. It was a no-brainer that the money would go to Phyllis Tuckwell.

“We got paired up on the shop floor to work together and I took it upon myself to look after her because she was on her own.”

Tina had visited Eileen in hospital a few days before she passed and said that even then she was “laughing and joking and had her nightie on with her work shoes!”.