The funeral service of Sadie Williams, described affectionately as "the No 1 Drama Queen of Tunbridge Wells", was like her life – full of music, poetry and laughter.

The chapel at the Kent and Sussex Crematorium in Benhill Mill Road, Tunbridge Wells, was full to overflowing, with many mourners having to listen from outside in the waiting room area.

In addition, the service was webcast with scores more of Mrs Williams' friends logging on to view from across Europe, Cyprus, Canada, the USA and from her home country of Scotland.

An actress, singer, dancer, choreographer and director, she had been a stalwart of the arts scene in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge for nigh on seven decades.

She had been a life member and former chairman of the Tunbridge Wells Operatic and Dramatic Society (TWODS), and was president of the Local Amateur Musical Players Society (LAMPS) and had acted with the Tunbridge Wells Drama Club (now Trinity Theatre Club).

The service, which was deemed a celebration of her life, was as her son Stewart said: "Sadie's last show, in which she had produced and taken the leading role."

It included a chorus of 15 performers who sang some of her favourites from the Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado.

There were also poetry readings from Wordsworth and Robbie Burns.

The celebrant Gary Homewood said that Mrs Williams had enjoyed a "wonderfully long and fruitful life" dedicated to family, education and the theatre and she was "now going home to the land of her birth".

She was born Sadie Smith in Kilmarnock in 1926, and was a graduate of the Cathcart School of Music in Glasgow. Her Scottish heritage was marked by a thistle on top of her coffin, a Scottish Saltire displayed on a video screen, and also by a rendition of Scotland the Brave on the bagpipes.

Mrs Williams moved to Kent with her parents in 1946. She became a teacher first at St Stephen's Primary, than at Hillview School, both in Tonbridge, and finally at the Hugh Christie School in Tonbridge where she retired as deputy head in 1985.

She was married for 49 years to Rex Williams, whom she met at TWODS, but sadly he pre-deceased her in 1998.

Her friend of 35 years, Brian Bissell, recollected her famous New Year's Eve parties, describing her as "always kind and generous".

He recalled how for many years she had spent most Sundays running the costume club at the the Tonbridge Theatre and Arts Club (known as the Oast Theatre.)

He observed: "She has a full house here today, and deservedly so."

Shirley Browning said: "Sadie had been in my life for 70 years, ever since I was a young teenager desperate to join LAMPS. I so looked up to her."

She said: "She was always at all the important events in my life."

Mrs Browning recalled how in later years, when she was a director at The Oast, she would call in on Mrs Williams for a post-show nightcap.

Indeed, many of those who paid tribute made reference to Mrs Williams' enjoyment of a glass of whisky, which had also led to her naming her three cats Whisky 1, Whisky 2 and Whisky 3.

Her younger son Stuart observed his mother's mantra had always been: "There's no such thing as boredom."

While he and his brother Bruce were growing up, their house in Dry Hill Park Road, Tonbridge, had seen a constant stream of visitors, with everyone from the neighbours to the delivery men invited in for a chat.

He said: "Only three weeks before her death, we are playing Uno with her, and she was hooting with laughter."

Four years ago, Mrs Williams left the house she had lived in for 63 years and moved into Hale Place Care Home in East Peckham.

Manager Danielle Cave said she would never forget the day Mrs Williams arrived. She said: "She was a larger-than-life character" and "a classy lady who never the left her room without having her hair done."

She recalled how Mrs Williams would wickedly embarrass the nightstaff with her choice of television viewing, suggesting programs like Naked Attraction.

Describing Mrs Williams as the "Lady of Hale Place," she said there would always be one aspect of the home's lounge described as Sadie's Corner, and she "would always be part of the Hale Place community".

Mrs Williams' older son, Bruce, who himself has a distinguished career in theatre as a professional lighting designer, said: "She was not only a terrific mum, but also the hostess with the mostest – always dressed wonderfully with painted nails."

At the end of her life Mrs Williams had suffered from dementia.

Bruce was with her at the end in what he described as "her fade to black".

He said: "It was the end of a remarkable life and one in which she more than fulfilled her contribution to humanity."

Mourners gave Mrs Williams a last round of applause as the curtains closed around her coffin, and filed out to the fanfare of Loudly Let The Trumpet Bray from Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe.

Mrs Williams leaves her two sons, four grandchildren and four great grandchildren.