A village stalwart has died just a week short of her 97th birthday.

Dorothy Jean Smith lived in Castle Hedingham for close to 60 years having moved to the village with former husband and Congregational minister Revd Ron Smith back in 1958.

Mrs Smith was a key figure in the village during the Sixties and Seventies in which time she spent 11 years teaching at Hedingham Secondary School, before leaving to teach at De Vere Primary School.

Mrs Smith spent her final years living in Bowman’s Park and she regularly attended the United Reformed Church in Halstead right up until her passing.

Born in Sheffield in 1921, Mrs Smith moved to Halstead as a child after her father George Shaw, was appointed minister in the Congregational Church in Halstead during the Twenties and Thirties.

The family lived along High Street in the building which is now used as a post office.

Mrs Smith went on to train as a Home Economist in London before she was evacuated to Torquay during the Blitz.

After the war, she married her husband Ron and after spending several years in the north of England, Mr and Mrs Smith moved back to Castle Hedingham where they would remain for the rest of their respective lives.

Mrs Smith is survived by her four children Andrew, Craig, Jean and Dora.

A date for her funeral has yet to be confirmed but the family hope it will take place in mid-February.