A New Addington woman described as the first lady of the Clocktower' is to be immortalised in Croydon's Lifetimes gallery following her sudden death last month.

Nan Jenkins, 72, died unexpectedly from a stroke on February 4 but her memory will live on for generations through the exhibits she donated to the Clocktower's award-winning local history museum.

The grandmum-of-three worked as a museum assistant at the Lifetimes gallery since it opened in 1994 and even became one of the exhibits herself.

More than 100 people paid tribute to Nan at her funeral and cremation at Croydon Crematorium on February 17.

Her husband John Jenkins, 74, said: "She was in good health and was very active so it was a shock when she had this massive stroke.

"Lots of people knew Nan. She had so many friends who were all at her funeral.

"One of her colleagues from the museum read out a beautiful poem about Nan they described her as the first lady of the Clocktower'. I was so proud.

"She really loved her job and got so much enjoyment out of meeting people and helping them. It's lovely to think that she will live on in the museum. She was very much a part of it."

Nan died a few weeks before her and John's 51st wedding anniversary. The couple, who have lived in the Fieldway area of New Addington for 30 years, have two children and three grandchildren.

Nan's family hope to scatter her ashes in Edinburgh, where she was born.

The Lifetimes gallery tells Croydon's story through the voices and objects of its residents. Nan donated the wedding dress she wore when she married John at St Paul's Church, Thornton Heath, in February 1955.

She also donated a pouffe from her contemporary 1950s lime-green living room, a Coronation biscuit tin bought when she watched the Queen's procession in 1953 and toys bought for her children in the 1960s.

Visitors to Lifetimes since 1994 have been able to see Nan and John in waxwork form as well as listen to Nan's voice on an audio loop.

In 2004, Nan told the Croydon Guardian: "I do feel very privileged to have been involved in the Lifetimes exhibition.

"I've always been interested in local history and I think museums like this are very interesting and very important for the borough."

Lifetimes closed in December 2004 for a £1million refurbishment.

A spokesman for Croydon Museum Service said some of Nan's exhibits would continue to be used in the new-look museum when it reopens this summer.