A former editor of the Harrow Observer, who ‘saw the beauty in everything’, has died.
Sheena Crawley, who worked at the newspaper from 1988 to 2000, passed away, aged 78, from pneumonia on Monday.
The mother-of-four lived in West Hampstead with her partner, Marina Whitling, until three years ago when she moved in to a care home nearby, as she suffered from Alzheimer’s.
Marina, 59, said: “She was a force in everyone’s lives and a dynamic woman. She had such a spark. I know that she was a fantastic editor as well. Her colleagues would say that she wasn’t easy, but she was fair. They all had a lot of respect for her.”
A proud Scot, Sheena was born in Bridge of Allan and began work on the Glasgow Herald and Daily Record, before moving to South Africa for 11 years, where she worked on Fairlady magazine and the Rhodesian Herald.
When she returned, she worked as features editor for Woman’s Own magazine then worked for the Ealing Gazette, before moving to Harrow.
Former colleague Tom Black, who was deputy editor of the Harrow Observer in the 1990s, said: “Sheena had many of the best qualities of an old-school editor. A strong instinct for a story and the determination to see it onto the page. She was also a popular ambassador for the paper in the community.
“Always fair and open in her dealings with staff, she was not without a fiery side and her presence in the newsroom was never in doubt. She nurtured many young reporters, who went onto forge careers beyond weekly newspapers.”
In retirement, Sheena gained an Open University degree in English literature and co-published a book of local writings from her home in West Hampstead and wrote a lot of poetry.
The former editor had also started writing her own book, Zimbabwe Blues, about her time in Africa, but unfortunately she never had the chance to finish it.
Sheena was mother to four children, Andy, 52, Alan, 51, Jan, 50, and Helen, 45, and grandmother to nine grandchildren.
The funeral is at Golders Green Crematorium at 11am on Tuesday, November 5.
