Family say emotional goodbye to '˜bubbly' and '˜caring' Gosport McDonald's worker

The funeral cortege of Chris Woodford stops outside McDonald's in Gosport high street, where she worked for many years

RED roses were placed on the coffin of Chris Woodford as the 63-year-old's family said an emotional goodbye.

While the Four Seasons’ December, 1963 (Oh What A Night) played at Portchester Crematorium, family and close friends of Chris paid their respects.

Earlier in the morning, former colleagues and people from Gosport gathered at McDonald’s in the high street to watch the funeral procession drive by.

Chris worked at the Gosport fast-food chain for 30 years and retired last month after receiving an award for her service.

She died from cancer a few days later on December 23. She was diagnosed earlier in the year, but did not tell her family until last month.

At the funeral held yesterday, a letter written by her granddaughter Rachael was read out.

It said: ‘I will do my best to make you proud until we meet again.

‘We have so many memories that we will cherish of you.

‘You and grandad are back together... you can both be happy together again.

‘Fly high my angel. I love you to the moon and back and further.’

The service heard that Chris was born in Fratton and grew up in Gordon Road, Gosport.

She went to Leesland School and then to Brune Park School. When she left, Chris went to work at a leather shop in Portsmouth.

She met her husband Dave in around 1968 and they married in March, 1974.

When their two daughters Lee and Lynn were older, Chris and Dave enjoyed holidays to Amsterdam, Denmark, Greece and Italy.

During the service, Chris was described as a family lady who was a fun, bubbly and a caring person who always had a smile.

She enjoyed watching soaps like EastEnders and Emmerdale and enjoyed Doctor Who. She also loved music and the 1950s was her favourite genre.

It was also said that she was someone who loved her grandchildren and she was a much-loved grandma who shared a very close relationship with her grandchildren Rachael, Jordan, Luke and Tia.

Chris’s daughter, Lee Woodford, said: ‘She was always willing to help people, no matter who or what they were.

‘That was both at work and in her personal life. She was a loving, caring person who always put others before herself.’

As previously reported in The News, a Facebook page set up in memory of Chris got more than 1,000 likes from people who knew her through McDonald’s.