A minute’s silence was held at the recent meeting of St Keverne Parish Council to remember |a treasured member of the Coverack community who died suddenly.

Jan Combe was the wife of parish council chairman Roger Combe. The couple have two sons, Simon and Ben.

Council vice-chairman David Lambrick, taking the chairman’s seat in Mr Combe’s absence last Thursday, requested a minute’s silence at the start of the meeting, saying: “Jan will be missed greatly, as you all know.

“We can only send our thoughts to Roger and his family.”

Mrs Combe was a teaching assistant at Coverack Primary School and a tribute from the chairman of governors, Martha Mita, was printed in the latest school newsletter .

Mrs Mita said: “It is with great sadness that I have to report the tragic and untimely death of Mrs Jan Combe. Jan had a long and very distinguished association with the school, starting from when her two sons attended the school in the mid 1990s.

“Her involvement continued as an active member of the PTFA and as a volunteer classroom helper, spending hours with the children doing art and crafts, helping with cookery and sewing and also using her imagination and skills with a needle to make such fantastic costumes for our school productions.

“The school garden is the result of her vision and effort – it is Jan’s garden.”

A special assembly has been held at the school to talk about and remember the “many wonderful things” Mrs Combe did to support staff and children, with pupils making cards and putting together a memories box.

“We all find it hard to envisage our school without Jan and can only offer our deepest condolences to Roger, Ben and Simon, and the rest of the family,” added Mrs Mita, who said the school garden would provide a “fitting memorial” to Mrs Combe.