Tributes have been paid to a well-known teacher who was awarded an MBE for her services to music and the community.
Muriel Hart MBE taught music for decades and was the rehearsal pianist with the Brighton Orpheus Choir for 70 years.
Ms Hart died on December 29 aged 99 and a funeral will be held for her on Monday at Woodvale Crematorium in Brighton.
Tributes have poured in online for Ms Hart who taught generations of pupils at Patcham Junior School for 20 years in the 1950s and 1960s.
Her family said that “music was a constant in Muriel’s life from birth”.
Ms Hart’s great-niece Harriet Thomas-Fitzpatrick, 31, said: “Auntie Muriel was an inspiration to so many and she will be so very missed.
"Spending family time together was always a joy, from driving through the countryside and stopping for a picnic, to listening to her stories from the past in the warmth of her home.
“She may have had a strict school teacher exterior but her heart was so big. She was the kindest, most selfless woman and did so much for her family. We know she’ll be in heaven at peace with her mum, dad, grandma Gandy and cousin Joan.”
Ms Hart grew up in Grantham Road, Brighton, and lived in the city for her entire life.
Her family said she had memories of playing piano at around 14 years old during blackouts in the Second World War.
She recalled learning the skills of improvisation due to having no lights to read music with.
Ms Hart was awarded the MBE in 2005 for her services to music and the community. She received her medal from the late Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
She directed the Golden Age singers in Lewes, as well as three singing groups at the University of the Third Age in Hove, Worthing and Peacehaven.
She was also the honorary secretary of the Sussex Musicians Club for nearly 40 years.
Ms Hart lived in Orchard Gardens, Hove, for 62 years.
Her family said that it was not unusual to see her hard in the garden on her hands and knees pulling out weeds and tending to her plants.
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