Constance Bainbridge died of a heart attack on the morning of October 27.

A memorial service was held in Atlanta where Ms Bainbridge had lived for 20 years with her son, Gordon, and her grandson, Gordon Jr. One of Ms Bainbridge's friends, Bea Keshner, who first met her in 1962 upon arrival on the Island, said: "Constance was able to impart her own love of theatre to such a degree that many who never thought of acting in a play found themselves painting set, looking for props and taking a stab at acting.'' Ms Keshner also described how "far ranging'' Ms Bainbridge's talents, abilities and interests were.

"She used her acting talents to both teach and illuminate a point, to encourage others and to learn by example,'' she said.

"Her directing had an enormous range, from comedies like `Harvey', tragedies like Shakespeare's sternest, or little one-act mood plays.'' "Noteworthy as her acting and directing abilities were,'' she added, "her writing talents were more notable. In addition to several one-act mood plays, she was given the assignment of writing a play on Bermuda's origin for the 350th anniversary of the founding of Bermuda.'' Ms Keshner explained that the result of this was "a remarkable play'' called "My Heart Stays Here'', written in dramatic verse on how Bermuda came into being.

A full tribute to Ms Bainbridge, written by Ms Keshner, will be published in The Royal Gazette's obituary section on Saturday.