Friends have paid tribute to a popular Yorkshire  journalist who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 52.

Sue Mason, worked at the Hull Daily Mail for 20 years, most recently as assistant editor of its monthly magazine The Journal.

She died earlier this month after a battle with the illness that began in September 2010 when doctors told her she had a cancerous tumour in her spine. It turned out that the growth was a secondary and she had unwittingly been suffering from breast cancer.

A celebration of her life is to take place on Sunday at 1pm at the Mariner’s Suite at the Country Park Inn, Cliff Road, Hessle Foreshore, Hessle and all friends and colleagues are welcome.

Photographer Lee Karen Stow, Sue’s friend of more than 20 years and former lodger, said: “She was unassuming and I never heard her complain about anything.

“What I realised about Sue, because of her profession in her writing, is she was prolific. She wrote so many articles and I wondered how she came up with fresh ideas all the time. From a work point of view, it was admirable.”

Sue married her partner of 22 years, Norman Wilson, in a ceremony at their home in Hessle on December 23.

Lee’s lasting memory of Sue was when she saw her on her wedding day. She added: “She had lost her hair and lost weight, but she was beautiful.”

In a tribute to Sue,  Sheffield Star journalist Jo Davison wrote: “Every day since she died, there has been some little thing I wished she could see. Like the rain on the window, a sudden, brilliant burst of winter sun.

“The January snowdrops I spotted yesterday, battling their way through frozen earth. They remind me of Sue. Sweet and unshowy, yet valiant and determined.”

Sandra Mangan, a friend of Sue’s who used to work with her at the Mail, added: “She was a wonderful woman and a great journalist.”

Sue leaves behind daughters Serena, 16, and Harriet Wilson-Mason, 9, step-daughter Sara Wilson, 42, and step-sons Darren, 40, Nigel, 38, and Mike Wilson, 36.