A woman who was the eyes and ears of the west of the island for more than 30 years has died.

Jennifer Leece was the Peel and the west correspondent for a number of newspaper titles from the early 1970s until shortly after the turn of the millennium.

She initially became a freelance reporter for the Examiner/Times group when it was based in Hill Street, Douglas, and continued until the break-up of the old company in 1986.

Jennifer then joined the new title, Manx Independent, launched in the spring of 1987, and continued writing for that title after it was taken over by Isle of Man Newspapers in 1993.

In the early days all of Jennifer’s reports were typewritten and her copy would be placed in an envelope and transported to Douglas by bus.

She finally worked for Peel City Guardian when it was still run by Fred Palmer, then slightly later when edited and produced by Ian Faulds.

By the 1990s, the industry was computerised and Jennifer was faced with quite a challenge mastering the intricacies and foibles of a PC and writing her reports to disc (pre email).

Jennifer died in Castle View Nursing Home, Peel, on Friday, October 19, at the age of 84.

She originally lived in Onchan and her father ran Blakemore’s music shop in Victoria Street, Douglas, with his sister and brother.

It was quite an innovative company, building pianos and even selling 78rpm records with its own shop label on them.

Jennifer Blakemore trained to be a school teacher at Edge Hill College in Ormskirk, going on to teach in Nottingham and York in the 1950s before returning to the island and taking up a post at Dhoor School, near Ramsey. She worked there for 18 months, then Willaston and Murray’s Road.

She met her future husband, Eddie Leece, at a folk dance party in Peel. They obviously hit it off straight away as, on their third date, Eddie asked her to marry him, which they did at Christmas 1960.

When Eddie became headmaster at Peel Clothworkers in 1968, having previously been head at Demesne Road School in Douglas, the family moved to the town where he had grown up and lived until he left the island to do his National Service in the RAF then train as a teacher.

Eddie was a widower and had two grown-up children to his first marriage, while he and Jennifer had two daughters - Sarah and Judith - both born in the 1960s.

Peel became the family home for the rest of Eddie and Jennifer’s lives.

Jennifer was heavily involved with the Mothers Union and treasurer of the Peel branch of Save the Children. She was also a member of the Marown Debating Society and extremely enthusiastic about the annual Victorian Week celebrations in Peel.

She loved walking her various dogs and taking them on family holidays.

Husband Eddie was a member of Peel Town Commissioners for many years, chairman twice, a member of the Board of Education and ultimately bestowed with the Freedom of Peel.

He and Frank Quayle also founded the Leece Museum in 1984, originally next to the Ward Library but now well established in the old Court House on Peel Quayside. Mr Leece died in 2010.

Jennifer continued to live in the family home on Douglas Road until almost four years ago, then spent 18 months in the Corrin Memorial Home before moving to Castle View.

She leaves Sarah and husband, Neil Black; Judith and granddaughters Lauren and Alyssa.

Her funeral service took place at St German’s Cathedral yesterday, Monday.

Donations in lieu of flowers for Jennifer can be made to the Leece Museum, c/o Peel Town Hall.