A BRAVE dance teacher fulfilled her final wish and married her sweetheart just days before she died.

And her husband spoke today of his feeling of luck in the midst of personal tragedy, at marrying when they had the chance.

Lynda Parkinson died from bowel cancer, aged 57, at Blackburn Royal Infirmary just five days after the couple fulfilled a dream by marrying at Blackburn Register Office,

Husband Ken Parkinson, 49, of Hazel Grove, Knuzden, fell in love with Lynda, his ballroom dancing teacher, seven years ago.

He said: "Lynda hated being called my partner but as we had both been married before, we had never thought about it.

"But as Lynda faced death she knew she did not want to be known in the obituaries as my partner."

Lynda was diagnosed with terminal cancer on the "most tragic of days" September 11, which was also Ken's birthday. She died early last Wednesday.

The mother of two faced the months of operations and chemotherapy as a "true battler who just got on with it".

Ken said: "I am relieved we decided to marry when we did. It makes us very lucky at this tragic time. She knew she was going to die so she was looking at her own death in a way of reaching as many little milestones as possible and the wedding had been one of them.

"She got to the point she wanted to before she let go, without actually saying and admitting it."

The couple had also booked a city break and a cruise holiday for the coming months but they were "goals that she did not have the strength to meet".

Lynda was best known for her Ally Katz Dance studio at Tony's Ballroom, Town Hall Street, Blackburn.

She had worked for ten years to turn a hobby into a business which has produced many national dance finalists and UK Champions like national line dancing champion Laura Carruthers and national rock 'n' roll champions Steven and Hilary Dicken.

The business has been handed over to her friend Jackie Sanderson of Sanderson Dance and Fitness studios.

Lynda's last business engagement was a retirement party and exam award presentation to the young dancers at the school.

Ken said: "This was her chance to say goodbye to everyone. The dance studio was her life and she put every hour in to it. Her best achievement is bringing all that joy and happiness to hundreds of children and parents at the school."

Lynda also worked in the clinical psychology department at Queens Park Hospital, Haslingden Road, Blackburn in the 1980s.

Lynda leaves parents, Johnny and Audrey Reid, of Herbert Street, Mill Hill, and her two sons Andrew Reid, 35, of Plantation Road, Blackburn and Stephen Reid, 33, of Herbert Street, Blackburn.

Mother Audrey said: "I could not have asked for a better daughter. We were a very close family."

The funeral will be held at St Oswald's Church, Knuzdenon Thursday at 2pm followed by a private family cremation at Pleasington.