Former pub landlady Queenie Howard, of The White Horse in West Row and The Bell in Barton Mills, dies aged 77

A former landlady of two pubs in Suffolk who ‘would do anything for anybody’ has died.

Queenie Howard, who was landlady of the White Horse in West Row and The Bell in Barton Mills, and was involved in many activities in the area, died aged 77 at her home in West Row on Sunday, May 21.

She was not only heavily active with her two pubs, but also held many fundraising events, worked at the King's Head in Beck Row and Mildenhall Football Club and was a school cook at West Row Primary School.

Her daughter Joanne Muray said: “Mum was a sociable person and very bubbly, and she just loved being out and about.

“She was quite shy when she was younger, but she still enjoyed being around people and socialising which is why being involved with pubs maybe suited her so much.

“She would do anything for anybody, at times to the detriment of herself. She would exhaust herself to make sure she didn't let anyone down and wouldn't say no to anybody."

Born in Hundon, near Haverhill, in March 1946, she married Joanne’s dad, Frank Howard, in October 1963, after meeting him while he was stationed at RAF Mildenhall.

Queenie was 18 when she gave birth to Joanne, who spent the first eight years of her life growing up in London before moving back to Mildenhall in 1972, which is where her brother Christopher was born.

After Frank died in 1985, Queenie met and started a relationship with Lionel Deadman and were together for 35 years until his death in April 2023.

Queenie and Lionel took over the White Horse in West Row in 1996 and eight years later made the decision to retire from the pub after numerous quiz nights, karaokes, celebrations and other entertainment events.

With the help of Lionel, Queenie also reopened The Bell in 2004 after it had previously closed down, and they got involved in the pub’s dart and pool teams and also restarted pétanque which is similar to other boule sports.

The pub was then taken over by new owners in 2006 and has remained open ever since.

Joanne said: “She was caring and always doing things for other people.

“There was a gentleman that used to be a customer at the White Horse who had a stroke and on a Sunday she would often cook him a roast dinner and make a dessert for him.

“She would also often look after friends' dogs if they were going on holiday, she was big into her Westies herself as she had two of her own.”

Joanne, who moved to Ireland with her husband Noel in 1998 where they have lived for the last 25 years, has many treasured memories of her mum, especially from her time growing up in London.

“We didn’t have much money when I was a child, but my favourite memories with her date back to London, particularly going to Telegraph Hill Park which was nice.

“Also, for my 11th birthday when we were living in Mildenhall, I had gone into her bedroom early in the morning and she’d given me this thing of talcum powder to unwrap.

“I was a bit disappointed to say the least but then she said to run downstairs and get my card and there was my first bike in the sitting room.”

Queenie ‘adored’ her six grandchildren who are now all adults, Laura, Amy, Martin, Emma, Joe and Sam, and she particularly enjoyed raising money for charity too while working in pubs.

Many of her fundraising events for charity included raising money for St Nicholas Hospice Care, Children with Leukaemia, and the air ambulance.