My friend and sister-in-law Wendy Mason, who has died of cancer aged 63, had a successful career in industry before finding her true vocation as a Samaritan. She started on the desk for the Samaritans in 2003, listening to callers, but soon rose to become a divisional director and finally, in the summer of 2012, regional director for the East Midlands.
Wendy was born and raised in Hyde, Cheshire, but left the north of England in 1967 to study chemistry at Exeter University. After graduating, Wendy joined the Ford Motor Company and rose swiftly in this male-dominated industry to become a senior human resources executive. She was subsequently headhunted by ICL computers and made her mark by becoming HR director of several different divisions.
Following early retirement from ICL in 2000, Wendy worked as a consultant to a number of small companies and then as an independent assessor for the Office of Public Appointments. In 2006 she helped set up the Judicial Appointments Commission, the body now responsible for the selection of judges in England and Wales. However, despite these high achievements, Wendy gained the deepest satisfaction from working as a volunteer with the Samaritans.
In 1994, she settled in a small village near Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire. To Wendy, this was a magical place: she had finally found her home. It was a place of rest, refuge and fun with her many friends and family; supplies of chocolate and champagne were always on tap. She was involved in many aspects of village life and in summer 2012 took great pleasure in organising an Open Gardens event for charitable causes.
Wendy spent her final days organising her friends and family to carry out her wishes and giving precise instructions as to how she wanted her life to be celebrated. She insisted that mourners should leave the crematorium to the sound of Monty Python's Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.
Wendy is survived by her mother, Nora, and younger sisters, Vivienne and Beverley.