Lucy Rhodes managed to live alone at her home until she was 102, after the death of husband Jimmy in 1981.

This week her family paid tribute to a great-great-great-great-grandmother who stuck to her guns and had a great sense of humour.

"It took some getting her into a home, even at that age," said daughter Ellen Walton, 79. "And when she moved into Copeland Lodge in Thurcroft, they knew about it. She certainly kept them on their toes, believe me."

"It was lovely when she was living there, and ideal for me really because it was so close," added Ellen, who lives on Laughton Road, Thurcroft, with husband John, 77.

Sheffield-born Lucy spent her last couple of years at Athorpe Lodge Nursing Home, off Falcon Way in Dinnington, where the staff fondly remember her early-morning tipple of whisky, honey and hot water.

Ellen said it would have been nice if she could have lived at the new soon-to-be-opened home, because the site is so close to their old house.

"We lived on Coronation Avenue, and the front door of the house where I was born directly faces the new building," said Ellen, who was one of eight siblings - six boys and two girls.

"Later on we moved to Eastern Avenue. We had a normal sort of childhood, really. Mum and dad had their ups and downs, just the same as anyone."

Before marrying, Lucy had worked at a cardboard factory in Sheffield and then had a short spell at a munitions factory in Maltby during the Second World War.

Jimmy was a miner, who worked for many years at Dinnington Colliery. They married on Christmas Eve of 1921, at the Holy Trinity Church in Pitsmoor, Sheffield.

"If mum didn't want something, she wouldn't have it," said Ellen. "She was very particular about her food."

"When she was 100 we had an open house for her at my home, it was lovely. When I spoke to her the next day, I asked if she had enjoyed herself."

"She said 'Yes, but I didn't get my dinner, did I?' We'd had food on all day, but she meant she'd missed her hot meal!"

Ellen said the family had enjoyed days out to Weymouth when they were younger. And, more recently, Lucy would go with Ellen and John on coastal trips with a Maltby-based group.

"There was a group that used to meet at the Edward Dunn. It was run by a lady called Jean Pickering," she added. "We would often go to places like Skegness, Bridlington and Scarborough, and that was when mum was in her 80s."

Lucy died suddenly at about 8pm, on the date 08/08/08. After the funeral, friends and family went to the Gordon Bennett Memorial Hall, Thurcroft.

"We had a lovely buffet for everyone," said Ellen. "But I'm sure mum would rather have had her hot meal!"