Village’s fond farewell to Hilary

The funeral of Hilary Chilton was held on Friday January 22 at All Saints Church Spofforth with an invited congregation of 30 friends and relatives, due to Coronavirus restrictions.

Husband and Wetherby News correspondent John Chilton said: “Many of the villagers who were unable to attend the church service because of Covid restrictions paid their respects by standing at the roadside as the hearse went by,”

Hilary, born in Worcester in March 1939, had been active in a wide variety of organisations in the village and people attending were representative of her achievements.

Hilary was working as a clerk at a top legal firm when she met John and they married in September 1960.

The couple moved to Spofforth in January 1962 as a result of John’s promotion and immediately fell in love with the village and its people.

She joined Spofforth Women’s Institute and was secretary from 1971-76, after which she remained on the committee.

In 2007 The North Yorkshire West Federation of Women’s Institutes presented Hilary with the Ann Martin Award for services to the community.

In September 1983 Hilary became Clerk to Spofforth Parish Council and remained so until 2003 when she was forced to retire because the arthritis in her hands made typing too painful.

Hilary was in constant pain from arthritis and, over the years, had a hip and two knee replacements and lost the sight of her left eye which was replaced by an artificial one.

“During this time, many people commented that whenever they phoned to speak to me she would exchange a few cheerful words and often ask about their family or problems,” added John.

“One day under Any Other Business Hilary suggested that Spofforth should enter the Britain in Bloom competition.

“Her suggestion was met with total silence from the councillors but she persisted and with Shirley’s support, they persuaded the Council to stump up the £10 entry fee.

“So the first year came and went; Spofforth were placed last with a well tried summary.

“Along came year two and again the council reluctantly agreed to cough up the £10 entry fee but this year Hilary held a coffee morning and raised £50 which she used to buy the village’s first flower barrel and plants.

“Once again the village came last, with a “good effort” summary.”

He added that the judges added that it was unlikely that Spofforth would ever be successful because it was divided by three roads and therefore there was no heart to the village. but Hilary persisted.

And Spofforth moved steadily up through the ranks until after 27 years of trying it won the prestigious Britain in Bloom award and Hilary then retired having reached her goal.

John added: “She would be the first to acknowledge that a large measure of the success would be due to the talented team that she had around her.

“In completing my eulogy I asked how much of devotion was due to love of Spofforth and how much was due to love and respect for that persistent little lady.”