Family tributes paid to sewing shop founder

Tributes have been paid to a former sewing machine shop owner and great grandmother-of-eight who has died just weeks after celebrating her 104th birthday.

Linda Brewer founded Brewer's Sewing Machines, in Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, in 1958 and ran it until she eventually retired at the grand age of 86.

Her family today paid tribute to the "fiercely independent, generous" woman, whom they say retained her sense of humour and even requested a helicopter ride to celebrate her 99th birthday.

"She was amazing. Until last year she would cook pancakes and Christmas cakes every year – and until she started to lose her sight six months ago she still knitted blankets and booties for the maternity ward at New Cross Hospital," said her daughter Kathleen Harvey, 69.

"Mom would always do anything for anybody – nothing was ever too much trouble. She was very active and outgoing and loved to watch sport on TV.

"She was completely there mentally, right until the end. She knew everything that was going on."

In 2007 Mrs Brewer celebrated her 99th birthday with a helicopter ride from Halfpenny Green Airport.

Mrs Harvey, of Common Road, Wombourne, now runs the shop with husband Alan.

"Everyone remembers her. People are always coming in and saying they remember her from years ago," she said.

"They have always been impressed that she was still going strong.

"She would always ask what was going on in the shop, who had been in and what business was like."

Mrs Brewer, who died on May 2 also leaves daughterSylvia, as well as four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.

She was born in Leeds, Yorkshire, and moved to Coseley in 1956.

After a brief spell at Revo, in Tipton, Linda and her husband Roland at first opened their sewing shop at 528 Dudley Road, but moved to number 458 in 1972.