Spinster leaves her fortune to charities

A 96-year-old cat lover has left £370,000 in her will to be shared between Black Country churches and animal and humanitarian charities.

Spinster Dorothy Duley, known as Dolly, amassed the money running Duley's petrol station, in Park Lane, Wednesbury, over a period of 50 years.

The garage was established by her mother Violet in 1937.

It went on to be run by Dorothy and her brother Samuel, who died aged 70.

She continued to run the garage well into her seventies, eventually closing the business in 1980.

Dorothy, who also lived on Park Lane next to the garage, never married and had no family when she passed away, leaving all her money to good causes.

Amongst the bequests are sums of £10,000 to six churches in Wednesbury and Darlaston.

Neighbour, Howard Merritt, aged 66, a former builder, helped care for Miss Duley in her later years, along with his wife Lesley, aged 53. He was also an executor to the will.

He said: "This says a lot about the woman Dolly was. She was a workaholic who ran the garage for decades, only giving up when the work really did become too much for her.

"She never married and left no family.

"She had lived in the house next to the petrol station since she was seven years old.

"She gave regular donations to about 20 good causes a month by standing order. That was all she spent her money on.

"Dorothy loved animals and nature and at one point had 17 cats living with her. They were all she lived for.

"It came as no surprise that she wanted to give everything she had earned away to charity."

Mr and Mrs Merritt, knew Miss Duley for 25 years and moved next door 17 years ago.

They and fellow executor Denis Howley, of Darlaston Road, helped out, providing meals, doing shopping and looking after the garden

Miss Duley died on September 19, 2009, just a month before her 97th birthday, after being taken into Walsall Manor Hospital with a chest infection.