Grace Ellen Gaston was a fighter all her life and yet as she approached her later years she lived up to name more than ever before.

Grace was born on 26th March 1922 to Alice Dickenson. She was the younger sister to Queenie, who sadly passed away 14 days prior to Grace. They both had an older sister who sadly died on her Mother's lap with diphtheria at the tender age of two.

Grace loved going to school but like many in her generation she left school at only 14 years of age. During her early years she worked in a jam factory, an asbestos factory, a mushroom farm, kept house for an elderly lady, was a cinema usherette, and then worked for the Woolwich Arsenal during the 2nd World War. This was a CV to be proud of.

She particularly enjoyed her time as an usherette where she frequently got chatted up by the male members of the audience, particularly as she walked to the front carrying her tray and light, announcing "Ice creams, soft drinks, sweets for sale."

During this time she met and began "walking out" with a young man named Frank Chapman who was a Petty Officer in the Royal Navy. They soon fell in love and with the Second World War imminent they married, with Grace being only 18 years old.

By the time Grace was 19 she was expecting her first child who was born in 1941 - her daughter Pam. Grace and Pam didn't get to see Frank too much as he was away at war. Tragically in 1942 news came through that Frank was missing at sea, presumed dead, following a torpedo attack on his ship - The HMS Electra. So there she was: Married at 18, mother at 19 widowed at 20.

With the support of her mother and wonderful sister Queenie, much of her time was spent with her daughter Pam. Then towards the end of the war she met up with an old friend she had known from her days as an usherette. His name was Harold Gaston. They began talking to each other and found they had a lot in common.

The war ended and clearly Frank was not coming home so they allowed their feelings for each other to develop and soon fell in love. They married in 1947 and in 1949 she gave birth to her only son Peter.

Grace, Harold and the two children lived in Alfred Road with Grace's Mother and despite some major operations Grace always worked hard to earn a living. In her latter years she was a cleaner, and right up till the day she died she was still in touch with all the people she had worked for. She was a remarkably respected employee.

Ten years after Peter was born Grace found herself expecting her third child, not planned but truly wanted. Debbie was born in 1959 when Grace was 37 years old. With all three children still at home Grace worked incredibly hard to see them grow into adulthood and both parents strived to provide as many opportunities for them all as they could.

As Grace and Harold approached their retirement they made the move south to Worthing in 1987, the year of the great storm and of their ruby wedding (40 years). By now their family had their own lives to lead and wanted Grace and Harold to enjoy their last years together.

Harold sadly died in 1997 from Necrotising Faciitus (a flesh eating bug) which left Grace devastated after being married to him for almost 50 years.

By the end of 1997 Debbie and Elaine had made the decision to sell up and move from Hertfordshire to Worthing to be closer to Grace.

After moving to Worthing in July 1998 to live just around the corner from Grace, she decided to move in with Debbie and Elaine in December 1998 so that she could be taken care of in her later years. Little did they know that in fact it would be Grace looking after then a lot of the time with her love, concern, words of encouragement and hugs. The double garage was converted in a nice little "Des-Res" which was known as "Gracelands" for her to be able to have her own things around her.

Needless to say when asked what colour she wanted it painted inside she replied "pink of course." What colour carpet would she have? "Pink of course". Bed covers? "Pink". Curtains? "Pink".

In the years following her move to "Gracelands" it became very apparent that she wanted to attend MCC with Deb and Elaine. One visit was enough! She loved the relaxed atmosphere, she loved the diversity of the people and most of all she loved God. Grace was a staunch supporter of the gay community. She had been to virtually every gay bar in Brighton and several in Manchester and she had thoroughly enjoyed herself with people that she had taken to her heart and who had clearly taken her into theirs.

Grace was a vital component in setting up Brightwaves MCC Brighton in 2002. She was in charge of refreshments at first but she really ended up being a counsellor as she listened week after week to the tragic stories some people arrived with. Every week, even when she was near to death, she would ask how many were there and were they all OK, never forgetting to put her promised amount in the collection! She kept apologising that she could no longer help with the church - she believed in what it was doing for people so much. One week after the collection we found that we had £75 plus two paracetamols, dropped in by our Gracie - she thought they had been coins so we had to fish them out for her to take!

Often when we were out shopping Grace would get a fit of the giggles which became infectious. So there would be three quivering wrecks trying to shop - what a nightmare.

If we ever nagged her about something, she would put us in our place by saying "ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. KEEP YOUR WOOL ON."

Grace lived with Mesothelioma - Cancer of the Pleura - due to asbestos exposure for seventeen months. She never, ever complained and even up to a few days before she died she was still putting on her HRT patches, creaming her face and putting on her lipstick - she never ceased to amaze us.

She so wanted to see the church grow and support people who were LGBT particularly and she so wanted to see Debbie ordained which she did in December 2002. We always prayed with her but the regional elder, Cecilia Eggleston, did so the weekend before she died. "Have you got any worries?" Cecilia asked. Grace's response was "Who is going to look after my girls?" meaning Debbie and Elaine. She was giving and loving right to her last breath.

Grace had a smile to die for, would always laugh with you, listen to you and hold you when the tears were flowing, yet she never expected anything in return. She was an incredible evangelist without even realising it and the number of LGBT people at her funeral proved that very point.

Grace Ellen Gaston left a huge hole in our lives that no-one will ever fill - She's in God's house now and one day we will see her again and our friends will share with us once again. We love you, Grace.

Grace Died on December 5th 2003 - never to be forgotten.