A popular Bicester licensee has died after a short illness.

Rose McKeon had run the Littlebury Hotel, in King's End, with her husband Malachy, since 1959, helped by their sons Michael, Malachy, Paul and Denis. Born in 1925, Mrs McKeon was evacuated from London to Blackthorn, near Bicester, in 1940 along with her mother and two sisters, Doris and Eileen.T he pretty Gardner girls from the big city caused quite a stir when they arrived to stay in the village. Mrs McKeon worked as a welfare officer at the Bicester ordnance depot and it was there she met Malachy McKeon, an Irishman from Drogheda, County Louth, who worked in the haulage trade in Bicester.

They married at Bicester's Catholic Church in 1950. Three years later the couple took over the Rose & Crown pub in the Causeway, Bicester. Six years later they bought Littlebury House and turned it into the hotel. Mr McKeon died in 2005.

The family are keen supporters of horseracing and Mrs McKeon is thought to have attended every Cheltenham Festival meeting for 50 years.

Reflecting on their mother's life in the town, her sons described her as an important part of the community and a generous and caring individual.

They recalled the strong influence she had on all of them, particularly the strong family values and the need to work hard. Paul added: "Her smile and enthusiasm would light up a room."

Mrs McKeon supported numerous charities. The hotel is the venue for regular fundraising coffee mornings and a meeting place for various Bicester clubs.

The grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of one will repose at the Littlebury Hotel until her removal to the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday, October 12, at 6pm.

The funeral will be on Monday,a t 11am, followed by the burial in St Edburg's churchyard.

Family flowers only. Donations can be made to the stroke unit at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.