Rita Rowley was found dead at an address in Prees Higher Heath, near Whitchurch, Shropshire, and an 80-year-old man has since been arrested on suspicion of murder
The family of a pensioner found dead in her village home have paid tribute to a “loving mum” as a man arrested on suspicion of her murder remains in a critical condition.
Rita Rowley, 84, was discovered at an address in Woodlands Grove in Prees Higher Heath, Whitchurch, Shropshire, on January 27. An 80-year-old man was also found at the detached property with life-threatening injuries.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder and has remained in hospital in a critical condition. West Mercia Police said officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with her death. Rita’s children have now paid a moving tribute to their mum, who was a dedicated charity volunteer, animal lover and keen gardener. They also said even though Rita had been suffering with Alzheimer’s, she was still “bright and engaging.”
In a statement issued via police, they said: “We would like to pay tribute to our loving mum Rita, she with our late father Colin raised us to be caring and kind.
“During her life, she wanted to lead her own life and to be independent. She met and married our father in Malta whilst he was serving in the RAF. Mum bravely moved to a different country leaving her family back home in Malta. Mum worked hard as a seamstress and had a great love of fashion; she was always a smartly dressed woman.
“Mum and Dad had a great love of travel and loved to meet new people, even after our father’s death, mum continue to travel solo or with friends both in this country and abroad, especially to her beloved Malta. Mum loved music and dancing and had a special love for Elvis Presley and Johnny Mattis. She would always have music on in her home, that said she loved modern music too.
“Mum loved gardens and flowers. When she first moved to Higher Heath, she cultivated a vegetable patch and set out her own flower garden.
“She was an exceptional plants woman, and very successful with propagating from cuttings and seeds and would happily share these with others.
“Mum took great pleasure in visiting other gardens as well for inspiration and admiration. Mum had a love for all animals; she would always feed the stray cats, and they would wait for her to do so.
“Mum also loved garden birds, the number of bird cages in her garden is a testament to that. She would feed them several times a day with her favourite Robin dropping in to the back door and waiting to be fed.
“Mum had an enduring Catholic faith and this along with their friendly personality gave her a great sense of community. She loved to help people and volunteered for over 20 years at the Age UK daycare centre in Whitchurch.
“Mum also volunteered time to drive people to appointments, she would take them shopping or do it for them and help them with their household tasks.
“Mum always worked hard throughout her life; she was always there for us and encouraged and supported us to do well. We will greatly miss her, even though her Alzheimer’s was affecting her confidence and sociability she was still bright and engaging. At this time, we would like our privacy to be respected.”
Detective Inspector Joanne Delahay, of West Mercia Police, said previously: “Firstly, our thoughts and condolences are with the family and loved ones of the woman who sadly lost her life.
“We understand an incident of this nature may be concerning for the local community, but we would like to offer some reassurance that we believe this to be an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public.”
