Community volunteer and shop owner, Ann Langley has died at 87.

Ann was born in Canterbury on June 5, 1936, into an artistic family. 

Her early years during the war were spent away from home at a convent in Ascot.

When the blitz eased she returned and was sent to a private school in Ashford in Kent, travelling unaccompanied daily by steam train, giving her great self-confidence.

She left home at 18 to begin a career in civil aviation, working at Heathrow control tower. 

After a while she was sent on a training course at Bletchley Park in 1957, to learn advanced teleprinting.

There she met John Langley, from Manchester, who was on his initial training course as a civil aviation radio technician. 

They became engaged on Ann's 21st birthday and married in Canterbury on November 16, 1957. 

They moved to Gatwick for the opening of the new airport, where John worked on the radar systems.

Their first born, Victor, came into their lives, and John's hard work meant he was given promotion to Manchester Airport. That was when daughter Andrea came into the world.  

When the chance of a posting to the new radar station at Ventnor in 1964 arose, the family grabbed it with both hands.

John went to Portsmouth Polytechnic on an engineering degree course for four years and during this time a six month old baby was gifted to the family for adoption. She was renamed Donna.

The three children grew up on the Island and thrived, and Ann loved living in beautiful surroundings.

But after John completed his degree, he was posted to London and another move for the family resulted — to Reading. It wasn't long before they moved back, to Shanklin.

Ann ran a vegetarian guesthouse, while John was working each week in London.

Ann became chair of the IW Vegetarian Society and started a food co-op for like minded friends, at a time when vegetarianism wasn't fashionable.

She bought her first shop, Grain of Truth, in Newport's Holyrood Street, and a second shop in Ryde High Street followed.

Ann provided essential wholefoods, and ran evening courses at the IW College teaching vegetarian cookery.

Once the children left home, the couple bought a 60ft residential narrowboat to live on, on the Grand Union Canal in London.

For 12 happy years they lived there until John retired in 1995.

They returned to Island life and found a house in Alverstone Garden Village that needed renovation.

Ann became chair of the Best Kept Village after volunteering as a judge. 

Another of her interests was carnival, and she volunteered in 1992 to help make costumes. Around this time she started losing her eyesight and underwent many operations to save her vision.

She had to give up most of her voluntary work. 

Luckily her failing vision was restored so she turned her hand to crafting, supplying ornate needlework to annual fairs. She specialised in designing exotic teddy bears that were sold from shops. 

Ann's life suffered a sudden shock when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. 

Her joy and happiness when Donna was honoured by being made a Dame for her outstanding work in the Hollywood film industry was a huge boost.

Sadly, Ann was unable to attend the investiture at Windsor Castle as she was too weak to travel.

Ann experienced wonderful care at the Mountbatten Hospice. She died on October 28. 

She had been married to John just a few weeks short of 66 years.