ONE of Stroud’s oldest and most beloved residents has died just a week short of her 107th birthday.

Kathy Dimock passed away at her home in Catherine’s Close, Stroud, surrounded by her family on Sunday, February 22.

A celebratory funeral service held at Holy Trinity Church on Saturday, February 28, was attended by more than 100 people.

About 60 family members travelled from as far as America, Spain and Scotland.

Mrs Dimock had five children, 12 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Her eldest child Sheila Wynter, 83, said: “We were all delighted to celebrate with everyone who came to the funeral, it was a lovely service of celebration for a long life and I’m so pleased it went so well. She had such a passion for life right until the end.”

She gave special thanks to her mother’s carers Dr Rachel Rutter, Dr Anne Hampton and to the district nurses who helped.

Mrs Dimock was born in Hampstead on March 1, 1908, during the reign of King Edward VII.

During her lifetime she saw universal suffrage become a reality in the UK, lived through two world wars and saw 19 prime ministers come and go.

In her early years she worked as a secretary at the foreign office.

She married Dr Edward Dimock in 1931 and the couple lived in Somerset and Hertfordshire before moving to Stroud in 1998 to be nearer their two daughters.

She volunteered at Help the Aged in Stroud, now Age UK, right into her 90s and was a long-standing member of Holy Trinity Church and the Inner Wheel.

As a great-grandmother she hit the headlines when she joined the Green Party on her 100th birthday was dubbed “Britain’s oldest green campaigner” by the Independent.

“Mum always did a lot of voluntary work,” said Shelia, of Trinity Road, Stroud.

“She loved babies and children and spent a great deal of time looking after them. She used to sew, knit, crochet, spin and weave and was also a great gardener.

“Whenever people asked her for the secret to her long life she always said to eat plenty of sugar and sweets.

“She loved to tuck into chocolate in the last few years, she had a very sweet tooth.”