MORE than three decades of service to the children and staff of Ashburton Primary School have been recognised with the unveiling of a memorial bench.
Pam Brooking, a dinner lady at the school for 33 years, died in October after battling ovarian cancer for two years.
The wooden bench, which will stand in the playground of the school, was unveiled by husband Stuart Brooking at an assembly last Friday. Mr Brooking has himself been recently diagnosed with liver cancer.
'Pamela was a lovely woman,' said Mr Brooking, who is a familiar face in Ashburton, thanks to his fundraising work for the Brainwaves charity. 'The kids loved her and would always go to her for some attention and sympathy when they were feeling a bit down!
'In her time, she saw four changes of headteacher. It's not just the kids at the school who will remember her, because in a lot of cases their parents knew her too.
'It will be nice to have something at the school to remember her by and which all the kids will be able to use for many years to come.'