Alice Mary Symonds, who has died at 93, was a Wroxham-born grandmother who ran a village shop, her story was accepted by Norfolk Record Office as an example of the life of Norfolk people during the 20th Century.
Alice was born in Wroxham on February 22 in 1921 to Elsie and Edwin Percy Newell and grew up in a cottage on The Avenue.
She met her partner Arthur Symonds in 1938 who was then the Manager of Roys Fish Shop.
The couple wed in 1941 but were unable to begin their married lives until 1946.
During the war, Alice worked at the Wroxham telephone exchange while Arthur was in the RAF.
After living in a caravan in Elveden, they moved to an isolated bungalow in Marl Staithe where Arthur would row them down the river Bure to Belaugh to visit Alice's parents.
In 1948 their son John was born and, shortly after, they moved to Crostwick.
Alice and Arthur returned to Norfolk in 1957 after living in Huntingfield in Suffolk for five years.
The pair rented the village shop in Belaugh and Alice took it over while Arthur went to work at Jarrolds Printers.
Later they were able to buy the shop premises and eventually had the house rebuilt.
Alice and Arthur retired in 1979 and went to live in Spixworth.
During this time, Alice wrote her life story which was submitted to the Norfolk records office to augment the history of Norfolk people in the 20th century.
Arthur died in 1995 and Alice carried on living in Spixworth until she was 90.
Shortly afterwards, she moved into Hollymead Retirement Home in Bognor Regis to be near to John and his family.
Alice was known to enjoy games of crib with John and was also known to frequently win.
Although mentally strong, Alice suffered severe arthritis.
In 2014, Alice was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer.
On the morning of January 2, she suffered an epileptic type seizure and died peacefully at around 11.30 am.
Alice leaves behind her son John, his wife Yvonne and their daughter Tania.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here