Margaret Littlewood, church worker

Margaret Littlewood, who has died at 86, was a career nurse, a businesswoman and, in retirement, the national president of the Catholic Women’s League of England and Wales.

She had joined her local section in the East Riding village of Everingham, before putting her organisation skills to use as its secretary. She became vice president and then president of the Middlesbrough branch, travelling through Yorkshire in support of the organisation’s refugee work and the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development, which it co-founded with the Union of Catholic Mothers.

She became the League’s regional representative and a member of the national executive.

As national president, she oversaw the restructuring of the organisation, and was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, a decoration of Honour conferred for distinguished service to the church.

She is survived by her husband, Roy, children Penelope and Michael, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.