Dr Rhea Sheddon, a former teacher in Fife, has died at the age of 92.
Mrs Sheddon taught in the primary schools at Kennoway, where she lived, and East Wemyss.
She was regarded as an individual character with an innovative teaching style that made an unforgettable impression on her pupils.
Born in Germany in 1922, Mrs Sheddon began teaching there and would tell how during the Second World War she had to run for shelter with her young pupils across a field as bombs dropped.
During the war she met Scottish soldier James Sheddon and the pair were married in the British Army headquarters.
When they moved to Scotland they briefly lived in Denbeath before setting up home in Kennoway.
While her husband was a miner, Mrs Sheddon continued her teaching career.
As well as imparting knowledge, Mrs Sheddon was dedicated to expanding her own and had several qualifications from various universities, including a doctorate.
She pored over newspapers and was a regular correspondent, writing countless letters that were published in various titles, often on the topics of language and medicine.
Her letter-writing led to an unlikely friendship with the mother of Henri Paul, the driver in the car crash in which Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed were killed.
Gisele Paul received hundreds of letters following the crash in August 1997 but Mrs Sheddon’s was the only one written in French and it became one of many to be exchanged between the two women over several years.
The Rev Richard Baxter, of St Kenneth’s Church, said Mrs Sheddon was known by all in Kennoway.
He said: “She worked to her own pattern. She had very strong views on issues such as peace, justice and organised religion.
“She was clearly very highly educated and genuinely had some interesting ideas.”
No funeral was held for Mrs Sheddon, who latterly lived in Abbotsford Care Home, Methil, as she donated her body to medical science.
Some of her many books have been donated to St Andrews University and Buckhaven High School.