Part of Judith Fawcett's tribute to Hilary Sloan. Judith gave this at the start of our 2016 AGM.
"We are going to start our meeting with some very sad news.
This morning we learnt that Hilary Sloan had died peacefully in Beaconsfield Marie Curie Hospice on Sunday evening having been unwell for some time but only recently diagnosed with cancer.
She was our Chairperson, my predecessor, for 5 years and during this time she brought her many talents and considerable experience to enable us to work effectively for UNA.
She grew up in a Methodist family and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. She travelled widely and lived and worked in India at one time. It seems natural for her to have taken a keen interest in international affairs and she joined UNA in the early 90s. The highlight of her term of office in UNA-NI was to guide us through the organisation of a regional conference for UNA-UK on Climate Change in 2008 and ultimately to host and chair this highly successful event.
Her career embraced school-teaching, prison education in the Maze, teacher training, university education and policy making in NI, the Republic of Ireland and India. Her considerable experience was put to good effect when she joined the UNA-UK Board of Directors as our NI representative and she gave very considered advice as the Board improved its governance.
In 2012, we recommended her for the receipt of a UNA-UK Distinguished Service Award which was very thoroughly deserved.
We have received most thoughtful messages from both Natalie Samarasinghe, our UNA-UK Executive Director and Sir Jeremy Greenstock, Chairman of the UNA-UK Board of Directors.
We send our sincere condolences to her husband, David and family.