Touching performance for beloved music teacher and former Crawley school student the day before she died

Musician, singer, songwriter and former Hazelwick School student Sally Paice, 57, died from cancer at St Wilfrid's Hospice in Chichester after years of teaching people how to play the ukelele and the guitar.

Sally, who lived in Selsey, leaves behind her dad Fred Burgess, 88, husband John Paice, 67, her two daughters Sammie Harvey, 32, and Katrina Dyer, 39, step-son Nigel Paice, 45, and five grandchildren whose ages range from four months up to 20 years old.

Sammie, 32, spoke to the Observer about her ‘very kind and caring’ mum.

She said: “She did a lot of music in the community. She took classes for under five-year-olds and played for the elderly in care homes. She also taught children in Bognor schools and privately in St Peter’s Church Hall, whilst raising some money as well.

“Mum had a long battle with cancer. She was first diagnosed 11 years ago but it came back in the spine in 2017.

“She continued teaching throughout the chemotherapy and most people were unaware. She wanted to continue as normal.”

Sammie said her mum was born in the then Crawley New Town, and spent the first year of her secondary school life at Hazelwick in 1973.

She said: "My grandad [Fred] was a builder at the time, but he loved music and he played the guitar. He is self taught. That's where my mum got it from.

"My mum moved to Selsey with her parents in 1973 and was there ever since. My whole family, including my grandad still live there."

Sally was admitted to St Wilfrid's Hospice on February 1, where she died on March 21, but not before a 30-strong ukulele band, named Sally’s Strummers, gathered to honour their former teacher.

“St Wilfrid's were incredible,” Sammie said.