A KIDDERMINSTER jazz singer who spent most of her life entertaining around Wyre Forest and Worcestershire has died.

Donnie Donegan passed away last week while at hospital after suffering from a stroke.

Born in Liverpool, as Lillian Donegan, Donnie was evacuated during the Second World War, becoming a driver in the armed forces and was stationed in London.

It was in the capital where she first stepped up to the mic in jazz clubs alongside world famous musicians including Charlie Galbraith.

After getting married, Donnie settled in Shatterford where she raised her two children and become a founder member of the Galleon Folk Club in Stourport – remaining a stalwart member of the club’s resident group for more than 20 years.

Donnie later moved to Kidderminster and was a member of the Royal British Legion, helping out with the poppy appeal each year and taking part in the Remembrance Day marches.

During her later years, she enjoyed going to the Cambridge Folk Festival and Upton Jazz Festival where she sang all genres of music but still specialised in jazz and blues.

Judy Blount, Donnie’s daughter, said: “We were very close and always went to the folk clubs together, but I never had the nerve to get up and sing like she would.

“She was a very good singer and had a very deep and powerful jazz voice – she didn’t need an amp at all.

“She never needed any encouragement to start off a song and once she started you couldn’t really stop her – she was larger than life.”

Details of her funeral are not yet finalised, but Judy said Donnie would want mourners not to wear black.