The early years of my friend Sheryle Geen, who has died aged 70 after a brief illness, had a Dickensian toughness. Born in New Zealand, the youngest of four, she was deserted by her father when she was two weeks old and by her mother at three months. Sheryle was raised by her maternal grandmother, in a house where her uncle resented the children and made them unwelcome. It is perhaps not surprising that Sheryle did not speak until she was four. However, her bond with her grandmother provided her with the values that sustained her throughout her life: hard work, loyalty, personal pride and courage.
Sheryle was a bright student but grew up in a setting where further education, especially for girls, was not the norm. Leaving school at 16, she married Terry Yates at 18. On the morning of her wedding, Sheryle, ever practical, helped her brother concrete his drive. She loved cars and sports, especially rugby, and worked hard in the family bakery business while raising five children.
I met her in 1976 when I taught her literature at Glenfield College, Auckland. Identity struggles took her into psychotherapy, which was a life-changing experience for her. Seeking cultural and intellectual stimulation, she returned to school and then began a degree at Auckland University in 1977, driving taxis at night to support her family.
Around this period of change, her marriage broke down and she found a new identity as a feminist and lesbian. Shortly afterwards, she had the chance to move to London and, once there, felt at home in a way she had not before. She became involved with the Women's Arts Alliance and Lesbian Line. Making new friends, she kept in touch with the old ones and with her children, the youngest two of whom came to join her in the UK.
After working as office manager and then building manager for her landlords, Sheryle set up her own building company in the late 1980s and also trained as a psychotherapist, establishing a private practice. Her attitude to life and people was straightforward, no-nonsense and generous.
Sheryle is survived by her partner of 27 years, Irene Alexander, and by her children, Chris, Teryle, Adam, Lynnette and Tyrone; 10 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.