Barbara Millett, a dedicated upholsterer, quiet philanthropist and mentor to young Bermudian women, has died at the age of 80.

Over the decades, Mrs Millett mastered a once classic traditional craft, becoming inseparably associated with her upholstery shop at 11 Curving Avenue.

It was a neighbourhood that she loved, having grown up amid the “beehive of learning” of Court Street businesses.

“I started with two shillings and sixpence and that’s probably what I’ve got now,” Mrs Millett told this newspaper in 2000.

“I’ve been around the trade over 50 years. I started when I was 13, but at that time I was still going to school and I spent my summers and Saturdays working.”

Maintaining that “upholstery must have been in my blood”, she recalled growing up on Elliott Street a short distance from Todd’s Upholstery, where the Spinning Wheel now stands, and as a small girl watching the work there in fascination.

Eventually, she began in the trade at Charlie Webb’s Upholstery on East Broadway.

Sewing was a common occupation for young women, who were traditionally steered into dressmaking and tailoring.

Men typically carried out the heavier work of rebuilding furniture — but she took to that aspect of the trade as well.

Handiwork dominated the business. She started out making thread from hemp, and mixing her own glue.

Opening her own business in 1969 from a little room on Mount Hill, she worked out of a variety of establishments before settling at House and Car Upholstery in 1985.

Traditional upholstery, like the hands-on work of farriers, cobblers and blacksmiths, has dimmed with time, but Mrs Millett took deep pride in her work, especially restoring antiques.

Struggling with a lung ailment late in life, she was eager to reopen her business last year after temporarily closing down.

She also watched over young girls through her work with the Brownies and Guides, and volunteered with the Salvation Army.

Her generosity occasionally caught the public eye, such as her mission to Cuba in 2002 to bring school supplies to children.

Other contributions were less known, such as her support for the Adara Group, which helps communities in Nepal and elsewhere.

Pamela Barit Nolan, a development manager for Adara, recalled Mrs Millett calling whenever she had a spare $50 to give to the charity’s Nepal project. “I think she quietly helped many here too,” she added.

Sylvia Hayward-Harris, a pastor and friend, remembered her as “deeply spiritual” and an advocate for children.

“She didn’t talk religion, she lived it,” Ms Hayward-Harris said. “She seemed to take a special interest in unwed or single mothers, of which I was one. She always found time to listen, to give gentle guidance, to lend a helping hand, and to show unconditional love for our children who to this day knew her as Aunt Barbara — although she was always ‘Miz Millett’ to me and I was ‘Sivvie’ to her.

“She always greeted us with exuberance, both hands in the air as she exclaimed our names and enthusiastically hugged us. Her eyes would sparkle and she’d chuckle with pleasure at seeing us. We knew we were loved and valued — through her we knew we were valuable.”

In later years, whenever they met, “it was as if time had stood still”, she said. “She was still just as happy and enthusiastic to see me as I was to see her, to talk about the children and grandchildren, hers and mine, to see pictures of my grandson, who was her special boy, and to marvel at his baby girl.

“Somehow, she seemed almost indestructible. It’s hard to believe her physical presence has left this planet.”

Married to Cyril Millett Jr, Mrs Millett was mother to Brendan, Cyril III, Darren and Theresa Millett.