A WOMAN who served Keighley as a GP at a town centre practice for 30 years has died.

Dr Carolyn Gill, of West Morton, died shortly before Christmas in hospital in Leeds following a short illness. She was 65-years-old.

She had worked at Ling House Medical Centre for 30 years, and retired in the summer of 2012.

She leaves behind two brothers – Simon and Nick. Simon said: “No longer having my sister is a tremendous shock. She was a very special person and her illness was so sudden. It’s desperately sad and I can’t believe she’s no longer with us.

“She was determined to have a busy retirement. She had such a full life and was always willing to help her community.

“She gave so much to other people and the tributes people have been paying since she died have been amazing.”

Dr Gill was originally from Altrincham, in Manchester, and trained at Middlesex Hospital Medical School, in London.

She moved to the Keighley area to work at Ling House in 1981. She married local man David Williams in 2003, but he died in 2009.

Commenting on her retirement to the Keighley News six and a half years ago, she said she always wanted to be a family doctor and had enjoyed a “rich and rewarding” career in Keighley.

Her brother said she remained extremely active after she finished work, citing her passion for folk music and dancing.

“She’d loved folk music and folk dancing ever since she was a teenager,” he said. “She went to meetings of the Bacca Pipes Folk Club in Keighley and every year she’d go to Whitby Folk Festival.

“She sang for the Silsden Singers community choir and after she’d finished working at Ling House she organised a singing group at the surgery. She also helped organise a ceilidh club in Addingham.”

Dr Gill was a member of a patient group for Springfield Surgery, in Bingley, and ran CPR training sessions at Morton Institute and in other venues.

She supported a bereavement counselling service at Manorlands and backed a variety of other charities including the RSPB, the National Trust, Guide Dogs for the Blind and a Samaritans branch in Leeds.

She was involved with the campaign against the planned Keighley waste to energy incinerator and was keen on literature, attending events organised for Ilkley Literature Festival.

Since news of her death was released, dozens of people have taken to social media to express their sadness and to praise Dr Gill’s conduct when she was a GP as well as her work for charity.

A celebration of her life will be staged at Keighley’s Victoria Hall at midday on Friday January 18th. All are welcome to attend.

Dr Neil Smith, Ling House senior partner who was a colleague of Dr Gill’s for many years, said: "Dr Gill was a partner at Ling House Medical Centre from 1981 to 2012.

"She was an extremely hard-working and dedicated General Practitioner, who always put the care and welfare of her patients above all else.

"Carolyn often worked long into the evening to ensure everything possible was done for her patients, many of whom will be extremely sad to learn of her death.

"After retirement Carolyn continued to care for people with true compassion, volunteering at Manorlands and manning the telephone for the Samaritans.

"She'll be missed by those who worked with her, and those she looked after."