Family and friends of Pelaw mum Jo Dodd have paid tribute to a "fighter" who'd do "anything for anybody".
Jo, 38, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and died on February 6.
In August 2021 she had been given the devastating news that she had advanced pancreatic cancer.
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Now, friends have re-opened a fundraiser to look after her sons Rosin and Cameron-James - and spoken of their love for Jo.
Jo, from Pelaw, went to her GP with "intense" stomach pain in August, and was taken by ambulance to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead after some worrying test results.
That was when a CT scan revealed she had pancreatic cancer - and it had already spread to her spleen and liver.
Looking back on his daughter's life, Jo's dad Ed said: "She would do anything for anybody. She was determined to spend time with her boys and she had been over the moon to get Christmas with them.
"Everyone loved her. She was the type of person who'd call a spade a spade."
Jo was brought up in Gateshead and lived all her life in the area, attending school at Windy Nook Primary and Heworth Grange in Felling.
Next-door neighbour Selina Scullion became close friends with Jo during the Covid-19 lockdown - and said Jo had been a remarkable support during a difficult time for her.
"She moved in next door a few years ago with her boys. One of them is the same age as my daughter. It was around lockdown time and that's how we became close, through such a difficult time. We were each other's support bubbles and we would see each other every day.
"We couldn't go out but we managed to have lovely nights together - and in some ways lockdown was actually one of the best times.
"I had a difficult pregnancy and during that time Jo helped me with everything. Then when she became ill she was so, so brave. Everything was about getting things in place for the boys."
As for the fundraiser, Selina said: "It will be lovely for the boys to know in the future all she did for them, and it's about making sure that they get all that she would have given them."
David McGovern, who owns the Beyond Vinyl record shop in Westgate Road, started the fundraiser in Jo's honour.
He had come to know her as she was a frequent attendee at gigs in the shop and around the region.
David said: "She would come to our gigs and there's a group who are all friendly. We kept in touch with her about music and that sort of thing and when she was diagnosed we tried as best we could to support her where we could.
"I set the fundraiser up for her two children. We know how much Jo would have done for them, should she have been able to be there when they were older.
"The first one raised over £2,000, and when she passed away we wanted to add to that."
David said there would also be a fundraising festival held for Jo next month.
Speaking to ChronicleLive just before Christmas, Jo said: "I’m not angry, I just want to last as long as possible.
"I know there’ll be days when I’m having chemo and throwing up and can’t be bothered with people, but I’m a fighter, I’ve always been a fighter."
To contribute to the new Crowdfunding appeal set up to provide for Jo's sons, visit bit.ly/3hf5bdi.
