A RESPECTED hospital consultant and supporter of end-of-life care in East Lancashire has died. He was 84.

Monoranjan Duari was a general surgeon at Burnley General Hospital from 1978 to 1994, and a long-serving trustee of Pendleside Hospice.

Mr Duari was born in Howrah, India, and moved to Britain after qualifying from medical school in 1954.

He went on to gain fellowships in surgery and worked at the former Reedyford Memorial Hospital.

It was there that he met his wife Margaret, now 73, who was a nurse.

The pair married in 1965 and had two daughters, who brought four grandchildren.

Daughter Meena Tomlinson said: “He became a great supporter of Burnley Football Club and my best memories of him are going to the games at Turf Moor.

“He had a season ticket since 1959.

“We even went to away games together.

“He was also very well respected in the NHS and even now there are people at the hospital who remember his work.

“He did not rush through like some surgeons do now. He was such a caring person. That was his life and when I was a girl we would go carol singing on the wards on Christmas morning.”

Mr Duari had previously worked at Hartley Hospital in Colne, as well short spells in Edinburgh and Devon.

He died on Christmas Eve after being ill for some time.

Burnley Crematorium was packed for his funeral service on January 8.

Mrs Tomlinson said her father also enjoyed looking after his grandchildren during his retirement and learned Italian and French.

He also supported Burnley and Colne cricket clubs.

Helen McVey, chief executive of Pendleside Hospice, said: “Mr Duari was a valued trustee of Pendleside Hospice during its founding years and we have continued to benefit from his support since.

“Our thoughts are with his family.”