Kathy Staff Autograph Page Mounted

Kathy Staff (born Minnie Higginbottom; 12 July 1928 – 13 December 2008) was an English actress known for her work on British television. She is best known for her portrayal of Nora Batty on Last of the Summer Wine, the longest running sitcom in the world.

Staff had a regular role as Doris Luke in the popular ATV soap opera, Crossroads from 1978 to 1984 and 2001 to 2002. Her other television roles included Coronation Street as Vera Hopkins,  No Frills as Molly Bickerstaff, Open All Hours as Mrs Blewitt, Dawson’s Weekly and The Benny Hill Show. She appeared in a television version of Separate Tables in 1983.

She died on 13 December 2008 at the Willow Wood Hospice in Ashton-under-Lyne, at the age of 80, with her husband John at her bedside, after a brain tumour was diagnosed earlier in the year. Her death was announced on 14 December.  Her funeral took place at St Mark’s Dukinfield, where she was a lifelong member and sang in the choir. She is commemorated in a memorial screen at the church.