Former Aberdeen Evening Express and Press and Journal journalist Pearl Murray has died.

She was 73 and had been ill for some time, spending her last few months at Kincardine Community Hospital in Stonehaven.

Her journalism career had spanned six decades, starting on local newspapers in Buchan.

She joined Aberdeen Journals as a reporter in 1955 and in 1958 was appointed women’s editor of the Evening Express.

In 1964 she took up the same post at the Press and Journal, becoming features editor in 1972.

Four years later she was appointed features executive and was awarded a Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal for services to journalism the following year.

During that time she spearheaded several successful campaigns including an appeal on behalf of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association which led to her becoming a life member.

She continued her interest in animal welfare, later becoming a director of Aberdeen Association for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Pearl took early retirement in 1987, but continued to contribute to the Press and Journal for many years.

An anthology of her writings, entitled Sometimes on Saturday, was published in 1994 and became a local bestseller.

P&J diary writer Peter Mitchell said: “Pearl was my first boss when I arrived in the autumn of 1972 from editing the Caithness Courier in Thurso.

“She was tremendously well-respected in the wide community of the Press and Journal and had a real grasp of the needs of a local regional paper.”