Farmer Margaret Read died doing the job she loved – and it is this which is bringing some comfort to her grieving family.

The well-loved 64-year-old, of Raikes Farm, Hartlington, was fatally injured after being struck by a tractor bucket while out digging new drains.

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into her death and inquiries are continuing into the circumstances surrounding the accident, which happened while she was working with her son-in-law, Tommy Handley.

More than 400 mourners attended her funeral at St Wilfrid’s Church, Burnsall, and the family has been inundated with letters of condolence, which share memories of her remarkable life.

Margaret’s husband Mick and daughters Hazel Handley, 37, and Susan Stockdale, 31, this week recalled how Margaret lived for her work and relished every second working on the farm. “It’s some comfort that Margaret died doing the job she loved,” said Mick.

“I can see her now sitting at the kitchen table making plans for the day and giving orders about what needed to be done. She was very independent and tough and would take on any job and usually crack it. Margaret lived for farming. She was a woman in a man’s world, a one-off and a good businesswoman at that.

“She took great pride in the farm and everywhere was spotless and well-maintained. She could clip as many sheep as a fellow and could build a dry stone wall as good as anyone.

“She never wanted to go away on holiday and she couldn’t do with cities. She was happiest in the countryside with a pair of wellies on. It was a hard but rewarding life. She had no intention of retiring, you couldn’t mention the subject,” said Mick.

Margaret was the second of three daughters and, according to her family, she idolised her father, the late Herbert Walker, who took over Raikes Farm in the 1930s.

She started milking the cows when she was just 11 and although she passed her 11-plus examination, she chose to attend Upper Wharfedale School because it was closer to the farm and she could carry out her chores before attending lessons.

Margaret met her future husband after he called into the farm while working as a plant man for the local authority. He needed water for his steamroller and the couple struck up a rapport over tea and cake while they sat talking round the farmhouse table.

The couple were married at St Wilfrid’s Church, but it was apparent from the start of their relationship that Margaret was also married to the farm and it was there where the newlyweds set up home.

During her farming career, Margaret built up an excellent dairy herd of which she was very proud and a superb flock of sheep. And not only did she work on her own farm, she was also a contract bailer for other local landowners.

Her daughters recalled that their mother kept them immaculate as children and she would push their prams into the milking parlour while she got on with her work. They also said Margaret, who ran a popular bed and breakfast on the farm making many life-long friends, was interested in the lives of others. “She was genuinely interested in people,” said Susan.

Hazel added: “She had a zest for knowledge and would help anyone. She was just so full of energy.” Margaret was multi-talented – she was an excellent baker and kept her own hens so that she always had a supply of fresh eggs.

She was also gifted at needlework and made furniture at night classes. In her younger days she played the organ at St John the Baptist Church at Appletreewick.

Margaret is survived by her husband Mick, her daughters Hazel and Susan, grandchildren Harvey and Freddy and son-in-laws Tommy Handley and Jeremy Stockdale.

She also leaves her 90-year-old mother, Emma, and her sisters Christine Tucker and Ann Foster.