The death has occurred at the age of 80 of an Eden resident who, as a young woman, featured many times in the pages of the Herald.
Greta Eileen Sealby — later Greta Hetherington and latterly Greta Hemsley — competed with great success in many beauty competitions run by Eden communities and other bodies such as foxhound packs, reports and photographs of which often appeared in her local newspaper.
The daughter of the late John and Dora Sealby, she was brought up at Crofthouse Farm, Greystoke Ghyll. She had twin brothers, Robin and Richard.
She attended Greystoke School and completed her education at Newton Rigg Farm School — later to become Newton Rigg College — where she studied agricultural subjects.
The young Greta went on to work in the family farming enterprise at Crofthouse Farm and also Watson’s Farm, with one of her main duties being to drive a horse and cart delivering milk in Greystoke, Penruddock, Stainton and Penrith.
It was in the late 1950s that she won the competition to be Greystoke May Queen and she went on to triumph in many similar events, including those in villages such as Lazonby, Penruddock and Maulds Meaburn.
She won beauty competitions run by hunts including the Blencathra, Ullswater and Lunesdale packs, and also did well in regional contests.
Her good looks saw her do promotional work for local companies, and she appeared in a number of amateur dramatic productions in the Eden area.
In the late 1960s she met the man who was to become her first husband, Cliff Hetherington — known to many as the most successful bowler of all time for Penrith Cricket Club’s first team.
Following their marriage the couple lived at Greystoke Ghyll and went on to have three children, Mark, Chris and Alyson. Greta maintained her involvement with Greystoke WI, and was also one of the team who prepared meals for teams playing cricket at Penrith’s Tynefield Park.
It was in 1989 that she met her second husband, Colin Hemsley, and they married in 1993. They lived at Greystoke Ghyll and then Penrith before making a move to France in 2009.
However, they returned to Penrith in 2012 after Greta was diagnosed with dementia, to be closer to family and friends. Colin went on to look after her at their home on Roman Road until the time of her death.
He recalls that she was a great animal lover, always keeping dogs and often rescuing injured creatures she found on local roads, which she would spend weeks nursing back to health.
One was a seagull she named Stumpy which had lost a wing. It would swim around the sink or bath, pecking at the noses of Greta’s dogs when they got too close.
In her younger days she rescued three leverets abandoned on the farm at Greystoke Ghyll and these were fostered by her cat — another story to feature in the Herald.
When living in France, Greta visited an animal refuge from which she brought home a German shepherd which was given the name Gypsy.
The two became inseparable and Gypsy was a great comfort to Greta after she was diagnosed with dementia and the move back to Eden was made.
Her other interests included gardening, which she enjoyed greatly, and she loved Greystoke and the surrounding countryside throughout her life.
She is survived by her brothers Robin, of Penrith, and Richard, of Greystoke Ghyll; husband Colin, Penrith; sons Chris, Greystoke, and Mark, Carlisle; and daughter Alyson Hetherington, Penrith. She had three grandchildren.
The funeral service, conducted by the Rev Martin Walker, was held at St Andrew’s Church, Greystoke. Richardsons Funeral Directors, Penrith, had charge of the arrangements.
