The family and friends of a “community stalwart” and the driving force behind Music in the Park gathered to say farewell to her at her funeral last Friday.

Carol Stead, 68, chairman of Banstead West Music in the Park Committee, was diagnosed with liver cancer in June this year.

The grandmother-of-seven went through chemotherapy treatment at the Royal Marsden Hospital, but it was unsuccessful and she died at home on October 4, the day after her and her husband’s golden wedding anniversary.

Her husband Nork Councillor Brian Stead said: “She was known for her kind and caring nature, her incredible cooking skills, her energy, drive and determination to see any task completed.

“She gave undinted support to her three children and seven grandchildren. She will be sorely missed.“

About 150 mourners - including Epsom and Ewell MP Chris Grayling and Councillor Joan Spiers, leader of Reigate and Banstead Council - gathered at Randalls Park Crematorium, in Leatherhead, on Friday to pay tribute to Mrs Stead.

The keen badminton and tennis player organised and raised funds for the last seven Music in the Park concerts, which this year saw more than 2,000 revellers enjoy the free event in Nork Park.

Mr Grayling, the event’s official patron since it started 12 years ago, said: “Carol was a real stalwart of the local community. The fact that her funeral was so full was a real tribute to her. I will miss her as will many, many other people locally.”

Mrs Stead worked until her retirement as a secondary care manager at the Old Cottage Hospital, in Epsom. She was also a governor of Shawley Community Primary School.

Nork Residents’ Association member Dot Hodgetts, 77, of Nork Rise, said Music in the Park started as a social event for the community, but thanks to Mrs Stead it developed into a concert that drew crowds from far and wide.

She said: “In the first year it just had a few hundred people, and through the years it got more and more. This was because of Carol Stead, she did all the running around getting sponsors to pay for singers and other bits and bobs.

“This year was the best year ever with more than 2,000, and people came from miles and miles. People from Brighton would come.

“She worked her socks off all during the year getting the funding and arranging it. She put her life and her soul into it.”