Rose Paterson, the wife of north Shropshire MP Owen Paterson, has been found dead at their family home near Ellesmere.
Mrs Paterson, aged 63, was reportedly found in woodland with West Mercia Police saying the death was currently being treated as unexplained.
The North Shropshire MP said the loss of his wife had come as a ‘terrible shock’.
In a statement, he said: “It is with great sadness that I must inform you that my wife, Rose, has been found dead at our family home in Shropshire.
“Rose and I were married for 40 happy years. She was a wonderful, caring wife, mother and grandmother.
“Her death has come as a terrible shock to us all. I would ask the media to respect the privacy of myself and my family at this extremely difficult time.”
The couple married in 1980 and have two sons and a daughter.
The Jockey Club pays tribute
Rose, the daughter of the fourth Viscount Ridley, was the chairman of Aintree Racecourse. She was appointed Chairman in 2014, having been a Racecourse Committee Director at the famous home of the Randox Health Grand National since 2005.
She was appointed a Steward of The Jockey Club in 2019. Paying tribute, Sandy Dudgeon, Senior Steward of The Jockey Club, said:
“This is tragic news and our thoughts go out to Rose’s husband Owen and all members of her family.
“Rose was a wonderful person and involved in so many aspects of our sport. She was a skilled Chairman at Aintree, a valued member of our Board of Stewards and headed up our Horse Welfare Group. She also enjoyed participating at grassroots level over many years.
“We appreciated her contribution very much and my fellow Stewards and I looked forward to hearing her sound views on a subject, where she was always sensitive to the best course of action for racing. She will be missed greatly for the person she was.”
Local Tribute
Locally, Mrs Paterson was a supporter of The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Gobowen.
In a twitter post, the hospital said: “We are very sad today to hear about the death of Rose Paterson. She was a terrific supporter of our hospital and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts are with her husband Owen Paterson, who is of course our local MP, and their family.”
Councillor Ann Hartley, Chairman of Shropshire Council, said:
“I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic and sudden death of Rose Paterson. I have known Rose for many years, and worked closely with her at many of the council’s citizenship ceremonies, when she represented the Lord Lieutenant as one of the Deputy Lieutenants. She always bought a warmth and grace to these occasions.
“I will greatly miss her, as will all who were lucky enough to know her.
“On behalf of everyone at Shropshire Council – councillors and officers – I want to pass on my sincere condolences to Owen and all of Rose’s family. Our thoughts are with them all at this very difficult time.”
Shropshire Live is regulated by