ONE of the region’s first women priests has died following a battle with cancer.

Rev Canon Janet Mary Brearley, Church of England vicar at Warkworth and Acklington in Northumberland, died having suffered from cancer of the blood. She was 63.

Tributes to her have been led by the Bishop of Newcastle.

Rev Brearley, who initially worked in education, was licensed as a diocesan reader in 1984 and by 1988 was training for the ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall in St John’s College, Durham.

She was ordained as a deacon in 1990, serving as a curate in Prudhoe and then at St James and St Basil in Fenham.

In 1994, Rev Brearley was among the first group of women to be ordained as priests in the Diocese of Newcastle.

By 1995, she was appointed to the Benefice of Warkworth with Acklington – covering the Parish Church of St Lawrence at the former and the Church of St John the Divine at the latter – and served as area dean from 2005 to 2011.

Rev Brearley was installed as an honorary canon of Newcastle Cathedral in 2004.

In addition, she served as chaplain to the Mothers’ Union and to the Warkworth and Amble district branch of the Royal British Legion, chaired the Diocesan Liturgy Committee, and became a vocations adviser and a member of the Bishop’s Council.

Rev Brearley led five major restoration projects at St Lawrence, including the shoring up of the Norman north wall, the provision of new access for the disabled, and kitchen and toilet facilities. She died peacefully at home with her family around her on February 1, following a hard-fought battle against the aggressive cancer.

Rev Brearley leaves husband Richard, daughter Victoria, son Michael and four grandchildren, Molly, Antonia, Joseph and Lottie.

Her funeral took place at St Lawrence church on February 14, with mourners wearing pink as requested by her family, and was followed by a private cremation.

Her grandchildren, and youngsters from the church’s Sunday Bunch and Warkworth School, made a banner made up of coloured circles reflecting the qualities they saw in Rev Brearle which was displayed at her funeral.

Donations were invited in lieu of flowers to the blood cancer charity Bright Red, which is based at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, and both her churches.

Bishop of Newcastle the Rt Rev Martin Wharton said: “Janet served all her ministry in the diocese and she did so with great distinction.

“The people of the parishes of Prudhoe, St James and St Basil Fenham and Warkworth and Acklington will especially mourn her passing together with her family and her many colleagues and friends.

“She will be sorely missed and whilst we give thanks to God for her faithful and dedicated ministry amongst us, we mourn her loss and hold Richard and their children and grandchildren in our love and prayers at this saddest of times.”

Rev Margaret Hobrough, one of the clergy at St Lawrence, added a further tribute.

“She was respected as a firm leader, a stickler for detail, a superb organiser, but with a deep pastoral heart especially for anyone in difficulty or pain,” Rev Hobrough said.

“She would be the first to walk with anyone in trouble, turning up to accompany you to a hospital investigation or sitting with you afterwards.”