Nursing home owner was adored for her selflessness

Diana Hardy, who was born on 2 January, 1941, in Glasgow, was regarded by those who knew her as a selfless character who was always willing to help others.

Her father was Rev Thomas Kerr and Mrs Hardy would often greet the congregation and organise events in his church in Harthill.

At the age of six, the family moved to Prestonfield Church manse and Mrs Hardy later attended George Watson's Ladies College, in George Square.

A couple of years later, after she began her nursing training at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary, she met her husband, Derek.

In 1963, the couple were married by her father in his church and soon after they moved to London where their daughter Fiona was born. They went have on to have two other daughters, Karen and Ally. Sadly, a fourth child, Lorna, died soon after her birth.

After a brief move back to Edinburgh, where the family bought a house in Lasswade, they travelled to Hong Kong so that Derek could take up an accounting post. The following years inspired a love of travel in Mrs Hardy, who visited the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, America and Oman.

While supporting her husband's career, she began her voluntary work, including taking blood for the Red Cross. When the children grew up, she went on to found a nursery play school.

The family returned to Edinburgh in 1981 and Mr and Mrs Hardy divorced soon after. Mrs Hardy threw herself into her work, first finding employment with East Fortune Hospital before founding her own nursing home, Hilton Lodge, in Haddington in 1984.

She was loved by patients and made many friends among staff, who were said to be in awe of her selflessness. She tended to anybody's needs and helped many people remain dignified in their dying days.

In the years after the home opened, Mrs Hardy expanded Hilton Lodge to include sheltered housing and a nursing agency. Although she retired in 1998, she kept up her volunteering and charity work.

She co-ordinated Crossroads, an organisation providing help for carers across East and Midlothian, and helped with Meals on Wheels. Later, she worked as an archivist in Dunbar and Haddington libraries, where she satisfied her thirst for knowledge of local history.

She later wrote a booklet about the history of the building of Hilton Lodge and she branched out to research the St John's Well, in Spott, where she lived before returning to Haddington.

She died on 7 March, aged 69, leaving behind her children and five grandchildren.