SOCIAL worker and homeopath, Chris Braithwaite, has died aged 64.

Chris, affectionately known as Chrissy, was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1955.

Hailing from The Potteries, Mrs Braithwaite became a social worker, and worked in a number of London boroughs, including Lambeth during the riots in the 1980s.

A few years later, she became one of the first social workers to use direct work techniques with abused children to help clients overcome the trauma of their abuse.

She moved to the Island in 1990, working as a senior practitioner and team manager in the Ryde area for three years, and later became a tutor for students at local universities.

In the late 1990s she started a local exchange trading scheme in the village. Unfortunately, also in the late '90s, she developed a compromised immune system.

She was subsequently diagnosed with ME, which remained with her for the rest of her life.

Initially rendered bed-bound, she was treated through homeopathy and found her new career, qualifying as a homeopath in 2006.

She then became a Quaker in 2008.

She was invited by the Community Care magazine to helm stress management and health audit workshops, which she ran over a number of years for social workers, at the annual event, Community Care Live.

Known as The Wight Homeopath, Mrs Braithwaite conducted her practice in Newchurch, but relinquished her position when she was diagnosed with a life-limiting cancer in January, 2016.

After being cared for by the staff and volunteers at the Mountbatten Hospice, Mrs Braithwaite died on December 19, with her husband by her side.

A humanistic funeral service to celebrate her life will be held at The Pavilion, Watery Lane, Newchurch, on Tuesday, January 14, at 1pm.