BOWLS: A WINNER of prestigious national bowls title The Johns passed away just under a fortnight ago.

Sue Larkins, 68, latterly of Woolmer Green, was a prolific club and county champion with first club Townsend and then later at Welwyn & District and Hatfield.

Originally residing in the Cottonmill and Chiswell Green areas of St Albans, she won numerous club honours after taking up the game in the late 1980s.

The story of her success was a drive and determination to succeed on the green, allied to a fierce sense of fair play and the traditional values of bowls etiquette.

A county winner at singles, pairs, triples and fours, the pinnacle of Mrs Larkins’ bowls career came just over a year ago when she skipped one of the six rinks as Hertfordshire beat Somerset at Royal Leamington Spa to lift the sought-after Johns Trophy for 2010.

A second bout of cancer reduced her bowling activity, but never her spirit or good humour.

Mrs Larkins passed away on Friday, October 14, at the QEII Hospital.