Violet Kathleen Slater (23 Nov 1932 - 18 Jan 2016)

Vi Slater passed away peacefully, after a short illness, on January 18, 2016.

Born in Plymouth, Vi always loved the city, the Hoe, the Barbican, the seafront, pasties, clotted cream, and all things Devon.

A lifelong member of the Salvation Army, she met her future husband, Keith, at a Salvation Army meeting. Vi loved to tell the story of how she immediately knew, "I'm going to marry him." They had been married two months short of 60 years at the time of her passing.

Vi settled in Swindon in 1967. She worked in several office environments, most notably as the receptionist for local chiropodist Marion Lee, her dear friend and neighbour.

Vi was known by all as a generous, unselfish person who was far more concerned about the well-being of others than about herself. She made thousands of pasties, mince pies, cakes, and similar baked goods, most of them to give to others.

Most importantly, Vi loved people: her husband; her son, her daughter-in-law, her grandchildren and their spouses, and her four great-grandchildren; her dear friends, young and old, at the Salvation Army; her neighbors in Farleigh Crescent and across The Lawns; her former co-workers; her friends across the UK and beyond; and hundreds of other people she met and talked to.

Vi will be dearly missed by her many friends, by her actual and adopted families, and by the fellowship at the Salvation Army.

She lived life well and generously. She was healthy and active until just a few months before her passing. She and her family felt a great sense of gratitude for her life, and a great sense of peace about her Promotion to Glory.