Family and friends have paid tribute to a warm and loving globe-trotting grandmother who died after retiring to Florida with the love of her life.

Julie O’Farrell was born in Bexleyheath on April 2, 1939 but grew up in Gravesend, where she went to the grammar School.

Her parents were Florence and James Fothergill and her dad, like many members of their family, worked for the Port of London Authority (PLA) on the River Thames.

After finishing school, a young Miss Fothergill got a job in London working in hotel administration but her desire to speak Italian inspired her to move to Milan, Italy, where she immersed herself in the culture by working as a nanny, which her family said she loved.

Once fluent in Italian she became a translator in Rimini, a city on the country’s Adriatic coast, before moving to Rome where she served as an administrator for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Miss Fothergill’s European adventure sparked a lifelong love of travel and six years later she moved to Montreal, in Canada’s Québec province, and joined the United Nations Civil Aviation Organisation.

It was here she met her future husband, Stephen O’Farrell, who her family say was “the love of her life”.

Despite the many locations they could have chosen to marry in, Miss Fothergill came back to her beloved home town for their wedding, which was held at Gravesend Register Office on June 24 1971.

Five years later Mr and Mrs O’Farrell moved again, this time to Toronto, Ontario, and she had another opportunity to travel, accompanying her husband on work-related trips across Canada.

Carol Smith, the daughter of one of Mrs O’Farrell’s cousins, said: “Always by his side, Julie was actively involved in community, arts and corporate events. Julie and Steve relocated to Miami, Florida, and Steve’s career required them to travel extensively throughout Latin America and Africa.

“Being the loving and warm woman she was, Julie made friends all over the world.

“Her favourite destination was the Costa del Sol in Spain where they holidayed every year for the last 45 years.

“Julie and Steve decided to retire to South Florida and pursue their main interest, cruising around the Caribbean and Mediterranean.”

Despite their busy lifestyles the couple visited Gravesend at least once a year.

She loved shopping in Marks and Spencer when she returned home often stayed at Best Western Manor Hotel, Singlewell, and was a member of North West Kent Golf Club in Orpington for more than 30 years.

Mrs O’Farrell died, aged 77, in Hillsborough, Florida, on Saturday, August 24 from pancreatic cancer. A memorial service in Gravesend is being arranged.

As well as her husband she leaves cousins Barbara Cook (nee Fothergill) and Betty Smith, their children Linda, Carol and Stephen, goddaughter Mandy, stepchildren Susan and Michael, grandchildren Jason, Lauren, Michelle, Grace and Matthew, and family and friends around the world.

Miss Smith added: “May she rest in peace and always be remembered as a strong, loving woman who touched the lives of many in Gravesend as well as in her local community in Florida.”