A DEDICATED charity supporter and country music agent who brought acts to the North-East in the 1980s has died.

Barbara White was well known in the region’s country music circles during her time as an agent duo with husband Jimmy White, under the name Jim and Barbara White Entertainments.

The pair gained recognition in their home town where they first caught the country bug.

What started out as music they enjoyed on a night out in the 1960s and 1970s turned into a lifetime passion which has been passed down the generations.

Mr White, who was separated from his wife, said: “We would go all over the country to book acts.”

Among the acts booked for venues across the North-East was late singer George Moody and country music champion and presenter Brian Clough.

Mrs White, of Newton Aycliffe, never lost her love for the genre and she was a regular face at Darlington’s Albert Hill Working Men’s Club’s country music nights - attending them with her daughter Allison White, 40.

Mrs White lived with her daughter who she was a full-time carer for from about 2009 when Miss White was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia.

Described by Miss White as her “rock”, the devoted mother was by her side through a near decade of health problems she suffered as a result of chemotherapy.

Mrs White was instrumental in helping her daughter found the Great Aycliffe Cancer Support Group (GACSG) three years ago.

She was an active committee member for the charity which provides support and advice to those across the region affected by the disease.

Miss White said: “She was devoted to the charity. She was there to support us and she would go round and welcome members. She was our entertainer when we went for social outings. Nobody could feel sad around her. She was the life and soul of the party.”

Originally from Butterknowle, Teesdale, Mrs White was born on April 8, 1942.

Following a short battle with cancer, Mrs White died at home on Saturday, June 10, at the age of 75.

She is survived by three daughters, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Mrs White’s funeral is on Thursday at 1pm at Neville Parade Methodist Church, in Newton Aycliffe.

Mourners will then meet at Darlington’s Crematorium at 2.15pm before a celebration at Newton Aycliffe Sports Club, on Moore Lane.

The family has funeral-goers to wear colour and make donations in lieu of flowers to GACSG.