THE family of a young woman have paid tribute to her courage after she lost a long battle against cancer.Mother-of-four, Yvonne Johnson, known to everyone as Vonnie, was first diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

By David Green

THE family of a young woman have paid tribute to her courage after she lost a long battle against cancer.

Mother-of-four, Yvonne Johnson, known to everyone as Vonnie, was first diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

Doctors thought they had successfully treated the malignancy but it returned with a vengeance last summer, spreading to her liver and bones.

Mrs Johnson, 34, died at her home in Hoxne with her husband, Mark, by her side.

He had cared for her constantly to avoid her having to go into hospital.

A funeral service was held earlier this week the parish church at Thorndon and attended by a large congregation.

Mr Johnson yesterday described his wife as a “bubbly, outgoing young woman, the life and soul of any party”.

Vonnie was born in Barnet but moved to Suffolk in the 1970s when her parents opened a furniture shop in High Road West, Felixstowe.

The family later lived in Trimley St Martin and Vonnie went to Kirton Primary School.

Later her family moved to Thorndon, near Eye, and she became a student at Hartismere High School, going on to study in the sixth form at Diss High School.

She married for the first time in 1988 having two children, Jake, now 13, and Zack now 11.

Her first marriage ended in divorce and she met Mark Johnson ten years ago. The couple were married in Diss Register Office and had two children, Luke, nine, and Megan, six.

Vonnie's mother, Linda Butler, said her daughter had been a caring, thoughtful person who liked to spring surprises.

“Mark has been very brave. He cared for her constantly. He has been fantastic and we are all very proud of him,” she said.

Mrs Butler's partner, Peter Bloom, said he had known Vonnie since she was a teenager.

“I was conscious of her tremendous courage, strength of character and selfless concern for others. She brought colour into so many people's lives.

“She managed to fit more into her 34 years than most of us can manage in three score years and ten,” he added.

Vonnie also leaves two brothers, Sam and Tony, and three step-children, Kerry 22, Michelle, 21, and Sammy, 15.

Donations in memory of Vonnie are being sent to Quidenham Children's Hospice, near Diss.