Tributes have been paid to a much loved mother, wife and landlady who died last month at the age of 58.

Mary Macken ran the Hit Or Miss Inn in Penn Street, near Amersham, for 13 years alongside her husband Michael.

In all that time the pub has only ever closed for one day – the birth of Mary’s first grandchild – and has become hugely popular in the village and wider community.

Mary, who was born in Dublin on February 8, 1958, passed away on Sunday April 24 after a three and a half year battle with cancer.

She had three sons – Steve, Andrew and Phil – as well as two grandchildren (aged eight and ten) and one more on the way.

Her funeral service, which was attended by around 350 guests, took place on Thursday May 5 with the reception taking place back at the pub where she worked up until six months ago.

Her husband Michael said: “She fought hard and was so brave. Nobody knew she had cancer, everyone was shocked. That was a true testament to her strength of character.

“She would want to – and will be - remembered fondly. Every word to describe a nice person has been used to describe her.

“She was a great planner and we carried out her plans. We took this from a place that wasn’t doing very well to an award winning pub.

“It was always a case of making the pub run the way she wanted it to. She would always take time to talk to the familiar faces.

“It is not only will the customers that will miss her but staff too. We have had some letters from former staff and for the memorial we had friends flying in from the other side of the world.”

For over ten years, Mary and Michael have been raising thousands of pounds for Bucks-based charity Rennie Grove Hospice Care from events such as the famous Penn Street Beer Festival, and have raised over £3,000 since her death.

The charity helped to look after her when he condition worsened and Michael claims the help they provided was invaluable.

“The support from Rennie Grove was above and beyond,” he added.

“The days at home would not have gone so well without them. They are an incredible group of people.

“Until they come in to your home you do not really understand what they do but knowing that they were there during her darkest moments was comforting.

“We want to raise awareness of what Rennie Grove do and we want to encourage those who loved her Mary to support them.”

Claire Redrup, community fundraising manager at Rennie Grove, said: “We were all really saddened to hear of Mary’s death.

“She has been a staunch supporter of Iain Rennie Hospice at Home and, latterly of Rennie Grove Hospice Care for many years.

“Over the years she and her husband Michael have raised in the region of £3,500 through the Penn Street Beer Festival that they held annually at their Hit or Miss Pub and other fundraising activities.

“It was particularly fitting that our Rennie Grove nurses were able to care for her in recent months and that she was able to benefit from the hospice at home service that she supported so loyally for so long.

“Our thoughts are with Michael and the family at this very sad time.”

Tributes and donations to Rennie Grove and Cancer Research UK can be made on Mary’s dedicated page at http://mary.macken.muchloved.com.