THE family of a Bury woman who "did so much for other people" during a long career as a doctor have paid tribute to her - with a new fellowship has been set up in her honour.

Dr Jacqueline (Jac) Livsey passed away peacefully aged 55 at her home on Sunday, October 4, surrounded in the presence of the people she loved.

Bury-born Jacqueline worked for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust for 20 years as a consultant, helping countless patients with cancer and helping to provide the best care possible.

Originally planning to be a scientist, Jacqueline turned her focus to medicine and endeavoured throughout her life to find the most effective treatments for cancer.

Educated at both Oxford and Cambridge, the former Bury Grammar deputy head girl attended Elton Primary School in her youth.

Sister Phillippa Livsey said Jacqueline was "just brilliant."

She said: "She was always very, very clever. We were just a normal family - our parents worked in factories. Nobody in our family had gone to university before, nevermind Oxford or Cambridge.

"I can't quite emphasise how clever she was. She was a natural storyteller and she could make anything complicated very clear. She was a lifelong socialist and she never did private medicine as she didn't agree with it.

"She was very funny too. One of her patients once said that she was a great doctor but that she would have been a better stand-up comedian."

Her auntie, Pauline George, said Jacqueline was "so nice and so dedicated to her job at Christie's."

She said: "She worked there for many years and she was so well-liked. She did so much for the nurses and patients there - for her to get pancreatic cancer of all things - we couldn't believe it.

"She did a lot of gynaecology and prostate cancer work. Anything I ever needed to know about cancer, I'd just ask Jackie. She did so well and she did so much for other people. She had decided herself that she wanted a career in medicine - and she really did do that.

Pauline added that environmentally conscious Jacqueline had planned her own funeral to be as eco-friendly as possible - including minimum waste and wild flowers.

Jacqueline was the daughter of Jean, stepdad Colin, stepmother Elaine and her late father John.

She was sister to Phillippa, aunt to Tom and Teddy, stepsister to Anthony, and cousin to Lisa, Sam and Diane.

She enjoyed travelling throughout her life, visiting everything from ice palaces to tree-top hotels.

Roger Spencer, chief executive at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Jac worked at The Christie for over 20 years, and during this time she worked closely with a number of teams both at The Christie and other trusts.

"She led transformational work in the field of clinical outcomes and made an impact on all who knew her, as well as a major impact on our organisation as a Trust.

“Our thoughts and condolences are with Jac’s family and friends at this time.

“Jac had personally requested donations to a special fund in lieu of flowers, and so to honour her wishes and groundbreaking work, a special Jac Livsey Fellowship in Clinical Outcomes has been established."