A RETIRED teacher who died following a car crash in Turkey was given a musical send-off at her funeral on Monday.

Elizabeth Worsell, known as Liz to her friends, died two weeks after a car ran a red light and crashed into the vehicle she was travelling in on a busy road.

The 60-year-old suffered serious injuries, which were apparently improving having left hospital when her condition suddenly worsened and she died in Fethiye’s Esnaf Hospital.

More than 100 people packed into South Oxfordshire Crematorium to pay their last respects to the assistant headteacher, who spent 19 years at Wallingford School.

Her partner of 25 years Robert Kellond said that Cliff Richard, Bob Marley and Hot Chocolate were all played at the service.

He said: “She was a lover of Cliff Richard and had her leg pulled something terrible about it.

“They were not the songs you would expect at a cremation, but I said if that’s what she loves, that’s what she should get.”

The 66-year old project manager, who had lived with Ms Worsell in Ock Street, Abingdon since 2009, said it was still very emotional.

He said: “She wasn’t just my partner, she was my best friend, I’m going to miss her like hell.

“I will end up selling the place in Turkey. I will go back, but I cannot go back to the villa, it will hold too many memories.”

Tributes have poured in for the former English and RE teacher, who was promoted to assistant headteacher when current headteacher Wyll Willis took over in 2006.

Mr Willis said: “Liz was one of those who think about others first. She was very, very caring. She was a favourite teacher, she was special. The students loved her.

“Liz had a great sense of fun, she was always the first to suggest and turn up at anything that involved a glass of wine.”

An inquest opening yesterday heard Ms Worsell was the backseat passenger of a vehicle when a driver sped through a red light and crashed into the side of the car on July 6.

Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter said she was given an emergency splenectomy, but her condition had begun to improve.

He said: “Her condition improved enough for her to be discharged and sent home to her villa in Turkey. Her condition then deteriorated and she died on July 21.”

A post mortem examination revealed she died as a result of a pulmonary embolism caused by the chest and abdominal injuries she suffered during the crash on the D400 in Kalkan.

Following a holiday in Kalkan, Turkey, Mr Kellond said they had fallen in love with the coastal town and decided to buy a villa there in 2009.

After being diagnosed with the rare blood disorder essential thrombocythemia, she took early retirement in 2011 and began spending more time in Turkey.

After her diagnosis, the mum-of-two drew up a bucket list of all the things she wanted to do, including being a cowboy at a ranch, visiting Australia and the Bahamas, and to ride a horse in Hyde Park.

Mr Kellond said: “She ticked most of the things off – I am so pleased that we did it together.”

Ms Worsell leaves behind two adult children, Allyx Miller and Joe Worsell.