Family and friends of a former Stow-on-the-Wold nurse gathered in the town last month to commemorate her memory.

They came together on what would have been Heather King’s 88th birthday to plant a rose in her memory, close to a new development of affordable housing which has been named after her. Five of Heather’s ten children were among the small group to attend the event in Heather View, which has been built on the site of our former Chamberlayne House sheltered housing scheme, where Heather lived for 14 years.

The memorial was led by Heather’s son Dougie, who paid tribute to his mother, saying: “She was always so accepting of everyone. She was our family’s rock, and we were bonded by this beautiful lady who was so full of life. She was an amazing, inspirational lady who will always be in our hearts. Heather really was an amazing, one-of-a-kind lady who will be forever in our hearts.”

Born and raised in Evesham, Heather moved to Stow shortly after her marriage to Stewart in 1954. She spent many years as an auxiliary nurse, working locally for organisations including Newlands care home and Kate’s Home Nursery. Together with her husband she was an active fundraiser in the town for the Royal British Legion and army cadets.

In 2006 she moved into a flat at our Chamberlayne House and quickly became an integral part of the community, organising days out, fish and chip lunches, days out and bingo nights. She would check on the other residents to make sure none of them missed out on any of the events, while also looking after the scheme’s guest room. When she became unwell in 2020 she moved in with Dougie and stayed living with her son until she passed away in August 2020.

We submitted its plans to regenerate Chamberlayne House in December 2020 and started work to replace the 1960s block of 16 flats with 18 modern, affordable homes the following year. Work was completed in 2022 when the new customers moved into the new homes.

Project manager Millie Nicholls said: “Heather was an incredible woman who touched the lives of everyone she met. We’re pleased to have been able to name our new development after her and to plant a rose bush in memory of her and all the other residents who lived at Chamberlayne House over the past 60 years.

“After deciding to name our development after Heather we always wanted to mark the completion of the work with something extra to remember her by and what better way to do it on what would have been her birthday. It was lovely to welcome members of Heather’s family to the opening and hear their stories about her.”