Tributes to Plymouth teacher who devoted her life to others
AN INSPIRATIONAL woman who gave years of her life to volunteering overseas has lost her battle with cancer.
Rosemary Reid, former geography teacher at Notre Dame School, died aged 65 at her Plympton home with her family by her bedside.
Her husband has paid heartfelt tribute to an "inspirational woman" and his "best friend".
The mother of three taught in Uganda, spent three years improving education in Nepal, and helped forged cultural links between Plymouth and Ghana.
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Her children are Rosalind, Juliet and Michael, who was one of the expedition leaders injured in a tragic polar bear attack in Norway last year.
Rosemary had been taking part in a pioneering drug trial to fight malignant melanoma which spread to her liver and lungs.
She had been diagnosed with the devastating disease in 2009.
Her husband Peter Reid, former headteacher of Coombe Dean School, said: "She was an inspirational woman.
"She gave time to others like there were no tomorrows, until there was no more time, there was for her to be no tomorrow.
"Ever generous with her things, she was also generous with her time.
"For 20 per cent of her working life she was working in Uganda or Nepal, helping girls to learn, improving education systems in Kathmandu."
He said she inspired students across the city through talks about her worldwide travels.
Rosemary was born in Gloucester and educated in Clevedon near Bristol.
She taught in Kampala in Uganda in the early 1970s with the organisation Teachers for East Africa.
She met Peter on a teaching course in February 1976, he proposed six weeks later and the pair were married in August the same year.
Peter said his wife was a skilled calligrapher and cake baker who loved cooking and gardening.
Rosemary worked at Notre Dame for more than 12 years until retiring in 2004.
She visited Ghana three times between 2003 and 2008 to build networks with the Plymouth Ghana Link, of which Peter is secretary. The partnership aims to boost cultural understanding between the UK and Africa.
The couple also spent three years in Nepal between 2005 and 2008 with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), working with the ministry of education.
Throughout her life Rosemary visited 40 countries.
She was among melanoma patients involved in a trial of the drug vemurafenib through the Royal Marsden Hospital in London.
Peter said the drug had extended her life – enabling her to see her daughter Juliet's wedding in July – until a sudden recent decline.
She passed away on September 11.
The family have launched a JustGiving page www.justgiv ing.com/Peter-Reid2 in Rosemary's memory to raise money for is 'Room to Read', which promotes education in Nepal.
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