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My mother, Irene Corfield, who has died aged 94, was a Yorkshire stoic, with a strong sense of duty and a droll sense of humour. Minor irritants, such as her dislike of cooking, she took in her stride. Major sorrows, which were few, were met with characteristic "no fuss". A supporter of the Labour party, trade unionism, the co-operative movement and the United Nations, she firmly believed that there was good in everyone.
She was born Irene Hill in York, the daughter of Edward, a solicitor of staunch Methodist views, and his wife, Janet. Over time, Irene became restless at the family's strict religious observance. When her brilliant older brother Christopher– later the celebrated Marxist historian and master of Balliol – invited her to see a play at York's Theatre Royal, their father took to his bed in silent horror. But youth prevailed. In the mid-1930s, Irene studied at the city's Mount school for girls, enjoying its relaxed atmosphere and imbibing a liberal Quaker egalitarianism.
In 1938 she went to St Anne's College, Oxford, to study French and German. There she added an optimistic strand of socialism to her secularised nonconformity. At an Oxford Labour club "hop", she met Alan "Tony" Corfield, who was studying history at Keble College. They partnered each other for a dance and then, ideally matched, for life, marrying in 1941. While he was on active service during the second world war, she worked in central London, monitoring foreign-language letters for the Ministry of Information.
Reunited in peacetime, they flourished. Irene stayed at home, as many married women then did, arranging part-time teaching around domestic commitments. She cared for her family like a strong but gentle lioness. She also supported Tony's career in trade unionism and herself served for 37 years as a JP. Initially, she was told that female magistrates must wear a hat. There was a tussle, in which she refused to budge. Eventually she presided, hatless, with calm authority.
Tony died in 2011. Irene is survived by five children – me, Julian, Alison, Christopher and Rebecca; four grandchildren – Melissa, Sherena, Victoria and Jeremy; and her great-granddaughter, Scarlett. Her eldest son, Adrian, died in 1990.
