TRIBUTES have been paid to a "very well loved" former Wrexham teacher and stalwart of the education system.

Valmai Wyn Jones, aged 81, died peacefully on January 4 after a long battle with ill health. She is survived by her brother Graham, children Bethan and David, and grandchildren Siân, Caitlin, Daniel, Idris and Nia.

Born in Chester in 1941, but with Welsh as a first language, she moved to Mynydd Llandegai, Gwynedd during the war, to live on her grandfather’s small holding. From there she went to Pembrokeshire, returning to Chester after the war.

She won a scholarship to the Queen’s School in Chester, then went to Wimbledon and Oxford to study Theology and Teaching. She began her teaching career in Bethnal Green, then moved to Kent, York, and Ellesmere Port, before settling in Wrexham, where she met her husband, the late Harry Dennis Jones.

Creative arts and writing were her forte and favourite pastime, and she achieved a Masters degree in English Literary Culture at the age of 63. As a member of the Grove Park Little Theatre for many years, she became its musical director, as her other passion was music.

She was an avid listener of Classic FM, played many instruments, including the piano, cello, flute, clarinet, saxophone, and treble and tenor recorders, and possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical music. In the 1980s and early 1990s, she was the Wrexham rep for the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and organised the woodwind, brass, and piano grade exams for music pupils in Wrexham.

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As a teacher, she taught RE, Music, and English, first at Grove Park Girls Grammar School, where she stayed for a while after it became comprehensive, then Borras Park Juniors, and various supply roles, including long-term supply in Alexandra CP School, Morgan Llwyd, and Ysgol Belmont in Buckley.

She was also part of the Girl-Guiding movement, as the Guider for 1st Garden Village Guides, and district commissioner for Wat's Dyke District during the 1990s.

Her children, Bethan and David, said: "She was a very well loved and respected member of the Wrexham community, having lived here for 52 years.

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"Her love of learning, and helping others learn, never wavered, even after she retired from teaching. She set up a Creative Writing class for adults through the Drome organisation, at Ty Avow, where she spent many years teaching adults the art of writing imaginatively for pleasure.

"In later years she became a member of the U3A (University of the 3rd Age), an organisation running courses for retired people, and through them set up a recorder group, and was part of a book club and music appreciation society, who all met regularly at her house.

"In her personal life, she was equally busy, but always approached everything with the same caring passion and stoic determination that she put into her career. She was a fabulous mother to us and spent all her free time with us as we were growing up, either instilling her love of learning onto us through many fun, educational activities, or enjoying holidays to Harlech, Swansea, and many happy summers visiting her brother in Switzerland."

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Valmai also loved a good discussion and debate, and anything that set her a mental challenge, with Mastermind, University Challenge, and Only Connect being three of her favourite TV shows.

Bethan and David added: "She adored her grandchildren, and they adored her. She was always interested to know what they were doing, and loved to give them solid life advice, which she excelled at."

In recent years, she’d also been penning her first novel, which she sadly never quite finished; however her daughter, Bethan, intends to complete it for her, and publish it in her memory.

Valmai was "eloquent and immaculate in every way", and will be very sadly missed by her family, and all who knew her.

After news of her passing was shared on a Wrexham social media group, dozens of people expressed their fond memories of being taught by Valmai. 

She was described as being the "loveliest of people", a "wonderful" teacher and "very talented" musician. 

Her funeral will be held at Pentrebychan Crematorium on Tuesday, February 7 at 1.30pm. For more information, please contact O.W. Ellis funeral directors, Wood Lane, Hawarden, Tel: 01244 532218.

A Just Giving page has also been set up in her memory, donating money to Nightingale House Hospice, which was a charity close to her heart. If you would like to donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/valmai-wyn-jones