Pam Jones would do well to walk through Dereham without cries of "Mrs Jones, Mrs Jones!", such was the popularity she had gained while working at Toftwood Primary School.

Upon her retirement in 1995, many a young child wondered who was going to keep a watchful eye on them and, crucially, tie up their shoelaces.

Throughout her 25 years as a welfare assistant, the school and its pupils "were her life", according to Mrs Jones' daughter, Adrienne Short.

Pamela Fogg Walley was born on September 20, 1930, and spent her childhood in Birkenhead.

The second-youngest of five siblings, she was the first in her family to attend high school, attending Birkenhead Girls' High School.

With her years in education behind her, she began working as an accountant for the local council, which is where she met her husband-to-be, Joseph Douglas Jones.

They got married in March 1953 and lived happily in the North West for several years.

The couple loved cycling, and Mrs Jones could often be seen pedalling from the rear seat of a tandem on their way to catching the ferry for North Wales.

"I've often thought that summarised her role in the relationship," said Ms Short. "She kept things steady."

By 1963, Mr and Mrs Jones had welcomed to the world a daughter, Adrienne, and son, Guy. They opted for a fresh start and moved to Norfolk, where Mr Jones was set to take up a role as treasurer with Dereham Town Council.

Initially, things were far from straightforward. Their temporary council house in Sandy Lane did not have heating, and a back-up plan to stay at The George Hotel was foiled for the same reason.

New neighbours Fred and Ethel Meek came to the rescue, taking the kids in for a few days so they could stay warm.

With Adrienne and Guy heading off to school, Mr and Mrs Jones bought some land at The Grove and set about building two houses, living in one.

"They wanted us to grow up in more of a countryside environment, and started a whole new life," added Ms Short.

"Every weekend we'd go to a different place on the coast. We started in Wells and worked our way along.

"Mum didn't know anyone, but she made friends easily. She'd always go out and talk to anybody."

Having initially been a stay-at-home mum, Mrs Jones got a job as an accountant with Walpole and Wright, before looking to retrain as an infant school teacher.

She was initially refused, however, as she "had children to look after" - even though Guy was 16 and Adrienne at university.

Sadly, the family was left shattered in April 1975, when Mr Jones died following a battle with testicular cancer.

By this point, he had made his mark by successfully campaigning for the building of the old swimming pool off Quebec Road.

A grieving but determined Mrs Jones sold the bigger of the two house, and started work as a school welfare assistant.

That was the beginning of her love affair with Toftwood Primary, where she spent a quarter of a century and touched the lives of hundreds of youngsters.

"She loved the school - it was her life, and the kids were her life," Ms Short went on.

"I would walk round town with mum in her later years and you'd get 'Mrs Jones' every five minutes. It was kids and parents who knew her, all stopping to see how she was and saying they missed her."

Post-retirement, Mrs Jones spent hours in her garden and could "make anything grow". She loved music, reading, sewing and simply having a laugh with friends and family.

With the arrival of her grandchildren, Hannah and Liam, and great-grandchild, Harry, she affectionately became known as 'Nanny Pam'.

In her 80s, Mrs Jones decided to stop driving, but was "perfectly happy walking to the end of Carlton Close, waving to all the neighbours and walking back".

Later in life she slid into dementia, but was determined to stay in the home she had built with her late husband, named 'Ty Dianaf' - Welsh for 'house without blemish'.

Ms Short moved in to look after her from 2016.

"One of our last outings together was at Gooderstone Water Gardens," she recalled.

"I rented a wheelchair to push her round the boggy ground and she loved it. Pretty much any plant you pointed at, she could name it.

"We established a real companionship in those final years."

Pam Jones died on June 18, 2020, aged 89. Ms Short expressed a desire to pay tribute to her mother this year.