Long-serving staff member at The Royal Gazette Dorothy DeSilva has died.

Ms DeSilva, who was 85, died on Christmas Eve in the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after a short illness.

Her daughter, Jean-Anne McConnie, who followed in her family tradition and is a front desk receptionist and cashier at the Par la Ville Road-based newspaper, said: “She was a very quiet, sweet lady and very giving.

“Everybody liked her because she was very kind-hearted.”

Ms McConnie added: “After she retired, she just enjoyed her life at home. She would go out with me and we’d do things together.

“She went to church a lot with friends and enjoyed watching talk shows every day and she travelled a bit with me.”

Ms DeSilva, who was originally from the White Hill area of Somerset Bridge and remained a Sandys Parish resident, started work at The Royal Gazette in the late 1960s — originally on a short-term contract expected to last only six months.

But she worked far beyond the normal retirement age of 65, finally calling it a day in the mid-2000s after nearly four decades as an accounts clerk when in her late seventies.

Ms McConnie added that her mother, who also had sons Michael and David, enjoyed crochet and cooking. “She was a very quiet person,” Ms McConnie said. “She liked going to church on Sunday, having her friends come by afterwards and having dinner with them.”

David Pethen, former company secretary and group accountant, said: “Mrs D, as she was fondly known, was a lovely lady. I was very privileged to work with her from 1971 until her retirement.

“She was as loyal and responsible as one can be. She was loved by everybody and a source of quiet guidance and encouragement for those who sought her counsel.”

Former colleague Ann Harvey, who left The Royal Gazette 20 years ago, added: “She was pleasant to work for, easygoing — a beautiful person and a beautiful spirit.

“She was always willing to do for others and was very helpful.”