A former Sheppey schoolteacher who became one of the first women in England to be ordained a priest has died.

The Rev Lorna Smith, who headed the domestic science department at the original Sheppey School for several years, died on Wednesday at the age of 78.

She had been living at St Mary’s Convent at Chiswick, west London where, at one point, she had hoped to become a nun.

In her younger days, she lived with her parents in Marine Parade, Sheerness, and was an active member of the town’s Holy Trinity Church, particularly during the ministries of the Rev Richard Third and the Rev Norman Baldock.

She was a leading figure in Kent Guiding and served in many capacities, ending up as Girl Guides Divisional Commissioner. One of her former 2nd Sheppey Guides recalled that when she later married, Miss Smith even made her wedding cake.

She gained an Open University Bachelor of Arts degree in 1976 and following study at the Canterbury School of Ministry she was made a deaconess in 1986 and joined the parish of Birchington in Thanet.

In 1994 she was ordained at Guildford Cathedral as one of the Church of England’s first women priests.

'She was a shining example'

After her ordination, Miss Smith served in two parishes in the Guildford diocese until her retirement in 2005. She continued to assist local parishes until ill-health forced her to give up.

Retired Sheppey priest Father Colin Johnson said: “Although we had our theological differences, Lorna always provided great moral and prayerful support to me in my path to the priesthood.

"My wife and I also chose her to be our daughter’s godmother, a task she undertook faithfully. She was a shining example of what a godparent should be.”