THE community of Llanilar has been rocked by the tragic deaths of two people with close links to the village. Marie Gilbert, 59, who had worked as a nurse in the village's surgery for the past 15 years, died moments before her car collided with a bridge near Abermagwr at around 2.25pm on Friday. Post mortem results on Monday showed that Mrs Gilbert, a married mother-of-two from Llanafan, died of a brain haemorrhage. Just hours after Mrs Gilbert's death, another Llanilar resident died in a collision near Llangurig on the A44. Michael Northam, 31, who lived on the Cwrt y Cadno estate, was a passenger in his friend Adrian Morgan's car when it was involved in a collision with a Subaru Impreza coming in the opposite direction. Both men were taken to Bronglais Hospital, but Mr Northam, an IT technician for Ceredigion County Council, was pronounced dead on arrival. The tragic news comes just weeks after another Llanilar resident and father-of-two, Ian Worrall, 37, of Bwythyn Glanllyn, died when his Peugeot collided with a articulated lorry on the A48 near Carmarthen. Mrs Gilbert's husband of 25 years, Peter, thanked the community this week for their support. He said: "The family would just like to thank everyone for all their support during this time, both practical and spiritual. It means a lot to us." Colleagues at Llanilar Medical Centre described Mrs Gilbert as a "ray of sunshine into our lives" and said they were devastated by her loss. Mr Northam, who leaves his parents, a brother and two sisters, was described as a popular member of the community who was well-liked by everyone who knew him. His boss at the council's finance department, Gwyn Jones said Mr Northam was much respected in the authority and deepest sympathies were extended to family, friends and colleagues. Local councillor Rowland Jones said: "The community has had a lot of bad news recently with three deaths." Saturday will be a day of mourning with the funerals of Mr Northam and Mrs Gilbert being held. Mr Northam's funeral will be held at St Hilary's Church in Llanilar at 12pm and Mrs Gilbert's will be held at 3pm at St Afan's Church in Llanafan.