Leigh Leopards have learned of the passing of Lynne Kearns (nee Stott) and send sincere condolences to her husband Andy, family and friends.

Lynne, who was 75, was a wonderful volunteer to the club during the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s before taking up the role as secretary to the Leigh East club and being a vital component in that club’s success.

As a player and coach at Leigh East, and former head coach of the then Centurions, Keith Latham knew her well.

“Lynne gave so much time to the professional and amateur game in our town,” he said. “Supporters don’t see how important the role of volunteers is in the successful running of a club and Lynne was one of those people without whom the club wouldn’t function.”

A native of Tyldesley, Lynne began her working life as a receptionist at the Leigh Reporter offices before taking up administrative roles at local businesses. She became interested in Leigh Rugby during her teenage years drawn by the excitement on the pitch and the family atmosphere at Hilton Park.

She became the secretary of the ladies’ section of the Supporters’ Club and compiled the club programme. When Leigh won the Challenge Cup at Wembley, she co-wrote a brochure Wembleigh-71, which had a distinctive cherry and white cover and included a detailed club history, still treasured by supporters of a certain vintage.

Lynne was instrumental in organising coach travel for supporters to away games and in many and various fund-raising and social functions.

Together with her long-standing friend Gail Anderson, mother of future Leigh player and assistant coach Paul, she’d make butties for the players on training nights, reserving a plate each for her heroes, Des Drummond and John Woods. Lynne and Gail were thick as thieves, part of the fabric of the club at Hilton Park.

With another volunteer club stalwart, Anne Wood, Lynne indulged in poetry, writing reflections of Leigh’s seasons. She soon became aware that following the club is a life sentence, with equal dollops of triumph and despair.

The 1969-70 season was a case in point. Defeat against Swinton in the Lancashire Cup Final, followed by a BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy semifinal win at Castleford, as ace Welsh goalkicker Stuart Ferguson made his debut:

August at Wigan we groaned with despair,

Then thirteen wins followed, how happy we were,

Well beaten at Salford, but nobody cries,

We still worship Murphy with his short back and sides.

Warming to her theme she added after the Swinton defeat:

Turning out to be the same old story,

Promises, promises, but never any glory.

Back in the league, Keighley’s quite a disaster,

Semi-final at Castleford, a team we won’t master,

Had a day on the sick, we went just the same,

If only to boast we’d seen Fergy’s first game.

The impossible happens, our joy is supreme,

Then our heaviest defeat, to Wakefield’s team.

Together with friends Gail (Anderson) and Bernadette Knowles, in 1988 she published a very informative monthly magazine The Up and Under during the height of the fanzine era.

The fortunes of the Leigh club were at a low ebb towards the end of the 1980s during the turbulent Bell-Hart era and Lynne, like many before her and since, grew disillusioned that the role of volunteers was neither valued nor appreciated.

 She turned her administrative and organisational skills towards the neighbouring Leigh East club, becoming secretary and an integral part of a club which enjoyed a highly successful era.

“Lynne was a brilliant secretary and gave so much time to the club,” Keith added. “She was respected throughout the amateur game and won National Conference Secretary of the Year on at least one occasion.

With her health deteriorating Lynne and her husband took the decision to move to the far west coast of Scotland at Kyle of Lochalsh, overlooking Skye, about a dozen years ago. She got involved in a local church group and in family history, continuing to follow Leigh’s fortunes from afar.

“Lynne was poorly for quite a long time,” Keith explained. “She had heart failure for over 20 years, colon cancer and then broke her femur in a fall.

“She wanted to see out her days looking out at the sea.

“She came back to Leigh to be inducted in the Leigh East Hall of Fame and received a memento of her achievements. That was an emotional evening. She gave up so much time to the game in our town and will be sadly missed by all who knew her.”