SHEILA ANNIE WHYTE June 1924 to March 2021

Sheila was born in Upper Tooting, London something she was always quite proud of. She was the only daughter of William and Florence Duck (Billy and Tim). 

Billy was a tailor and Tim was a milliner so Sheila learn to dress well and make her own clothes at an early age. She was rarely seen without a hat and red lipstick.

She married the love of her life Ham Whyte. 

She had wanted to be a painter and her father felt she needed a ‘proper’ job so she followed him into dressmaking.

She started painting in 1960 in Thailand, by which time she was a career diplomats wife and mother of three girls.

She lived in Vienna, Bangkok, New York, The Congo, Nigeria and Singapore before finally returning to Sussex in 2000.

Sheila spent many years compiling a family tree, and this interest in history and people made her an asset as a volunteer at the new Arundel Museum, where she worked identifying and cataloging, and as a meet and greet person. This work kept her busy and active well into her 90’s.