SHE was a much-loved footballer's wife of nearly 60 years, an adored mother and grandmother, and a long-standing Echo employee of the past.
Irene Hollywood has died at the age of 77.
She was credited with helping previously homesick husband Denis settle in Southampton.
He went on to make 266 appearances for Saints between 1962 and 1972 as a tough-tackling full-back and one club man, scoring four goals including a vital equaliser as they came back to win 3-2 at Plymouth in their 1966 run-in to promotion to the First Division.
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The couple met at school near their childhood homes in Ilford in Essex and married while both still teenagers.
Irene was a loving mother to Chris and Charlotte and grandmother to four-year-old Eva and Belle, the new arrival to the family who was able to meet Irene after coming into the world in February.
The Hollywoods lived in Bitterne for many years before moving to their home of 40 years in Sarisbury Green.
Irene joined what was then the Evening Echo in the mid 60s at offices in Above Bar Street, fulfilling roles including secretary to the editor in chief under four different historical editors.
A long-standing and popular administrator working within the Company Secretary’s General Office, she loved working for the Echo, which enjoyed an unrivalled social life in the city centre, leaving before the headquarters for the paper moved to Redbridge and the Above Bar offices were replaced with the High Street entrance to Westquay. 
She was a lifelong dog lover and owner, with a particular fondness for English setters. Her last dog was Woody, her beloved cocker spaniel, who enjoyed many exciting day trips and walks around the beaches, woodland and fields of Hampshire.
Denis and Irene loved to travel, enjoying numerous cruises and regularly visiting family in Majorca. They are pictured on a family holiday in 2017 with children Chris and Charlotte and their respective partners Lucy and Ben.
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