Sadie had a quick with a witty comment and never shy to give an opinion, which some people may have though frivolous or silly at times. But deep down mum had a caring heart and a real community spirit and I like to think of her as leaving little footprints of love, joy, amusement and possibly bewilderment wherever she went.

Her community spirit is evidenced by her work with Pig Dyke Molly, The Straw Bear Festival, Waterways Recovery Group (amongst others) and the many, many charities that she sponsored throughout her retirement.

Her care for the future generations can be summed up in that during her working life as a teacher, one of her roles was the school swimming instructor, where she made it her goal to ensure that every child in each year could swim at least a width, as that was the minimum required to keep them safe with all the fenland drainage ditches.

“M/s” Dean as she was known then has left a lasting impression on our generation. I have received comments from some of my lifelong friends who had her as a teacher when they were young:

“She was a real treasure and someone I always wanted to please as I admired her as a student.” (JC)

“Sadie was an amazing role model to me even at the age of 9 onwards – she made me think, even then, that women shouldn’t be defined by their married/single status. I’ll never forget her.” (CM)

Mum’s legacy lives on in her grandchildren: Her grand-daughter (Izzy) worked with various charities around the world and attained a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification alongside her Masters degree. Her grandson (Zac) qualified and worked as a lifeguard while waiting to start his career helping to defend the country as an engineer in the British Army.