Former Isle of Wight teacher Sheila McGrady has died at the age of 91.

Born in Leeds in July, 1932, Sheila was the middle child and eldest daughter of John and Margaret Hansbro.

Sheila loved her family life with brother Peter and sister Pat, regularly acting in locos parentis whilst John and Margaret were busy working.

After leaving St Mary's College in Leeds, Sheila trained as a nursery nurse and then later moved to Lancashire to become a teacher, a career she pursued until retirement.

Sheila was a real pioneer and a feminist before the term was popularised. She moved to Rhodesia (as it then was) in the early 1950s and was headmistress of a school by the age of 25.

She met her beloved then-to-be husband Gerry and they enjoyed happy travels around Africa, embracing the expat culture.

Returning to England in the early 1960s, they were blessed with the arrival of Sean, while they lived in Ilford.

They moved to Somerset, and children Chris and Roisin followed.

In the late 1960s they returned to Africa where Siobhan joined the family. It was a time of great change in Africa and they fully embraced the amalgam of new cultures.

During the early 1970s, Sheila felt the need to return to England for family reasons and the family happily settled in Leeds for a few years before moving to the Isle of Wight in 1976.

Gerry and Sheila were highly respected teachers for a good number of years, initially at Nodehill, with Gerry later becoming headmaster at Lake Middle and Sheila running reception years at Summerfields County Primary.

The years on the Island were very happy.

In 1999, Gerry and Sheila sold up and took a few months in Australia with their daughters who were living there.

They also enjoyed time with theirs sons in North America and France before settling back into Northern Irish life in Belfast, not far from where Gerry had originally hailed.

They threw themselves into the local community, in particular to reconciliations between the local religious orders. They were highly active in the social scene, heading organisation for outings and dances.

In due course, Sheila felt the call of England bringing her home. She moved to Shenfield in Essex to be closer to her children.

She enjoyed independence in her own house, before she suddenly died at the Hutton Village Care Home on October 7, to be reconciled again with her beloved husband Gerry who died in 2021 and their son Sean who died in 2017.

She is succeeded by her son Chris, daughters Roisin and Siobhan and grandchildren Jenni, Sinead, Laura, Oliver, Gerard and Enid.