A former teacher, county councillor and ‘force for good’ for the Cumbrian community has died.
Helen Horne was diagnosed with lung cancer in February and died this week, surrounded by family.
Helen, of Fenton in Brampton, taught English at Trinity School.
She was a former chairman of Healthwatch Cumbria and the organisation said: “She was a source of inspiration and phenomenal support for the team at Healthwatch Cumbria.
“She played an integral role in ensuring that the team were energised and nurtured as they enacted her vision to listen and share the experiences of local people.”
Helen’s life was a full one.
Professionally, and personally Helen was a source of energy and compassion who used her time and immense dedication to improve the lives of others.
As a teacher of English at Trinity School in Carlisle, Helen shaped the futures of thousands of young people.
For some retirement means relaxation, but not for Helen.
Helen’s later years were completely devoted to public service. As a non-executive director on Eden Valley Primary Care Trust, she worked tirelessly to ensure that patients were regarded as people and advocated to ensure that support was available to anyone whenever they needed it.
Helen’s thirst to help others, led her to become an elected member of Cumbria County Council where she was described as a ‘formidable champion for young people, who had the wisdom to use her knowledge to best affect and support young Cumbrians’.
In this role, as throughout her life, Helen had a particular interest and focus on further education, highlighting the vital role learning plays in securing opportunities for young people.
Helen’s skills of collaboration were in full force in this role, as she brought colleagues together through a shared vision to ensure that further education in our county maintained the interests of our communities.
A board member of Cumbria Council for Voluntary Services, she also volunteered with Age UK, was president of Soroptimist International Carlisle and was a governor of Richard Rose Morton School and Carlisle College.
Most recently, Helen was the chairman for Healthwatch Cumbria, created in 2012.
She supported and encouraged the Healthwatch team to listen to the views of thousands of people in their bid to help improve services.
Helen’s passion for fairness and for health and social care equity was also extended to Healthwatch England, where Helen represented the views of the North West as a committee member.
In this role, Helen brought the experiences of our region to an influential forum, ensuring that our views were part of national conversations.
The organisation said: “For that, and for so much more the Healthwatch Cumbria team will be forever grateful.”
David Blacklock, chief executive of Healthwatch Cumbria, said: “Helen was a passionate force for good, she dedicated her whole life to helping others, to tackling disadvantage and to supporting people to live better lives.
“Helen believed in fairness, equality and human rights. On a personal note, Helen and I became very good friends over the years, often enjoying a good glass of wine and a laugh together.”
She was the wife of the late Roger Horne, an influential local educator and local politician and mother to Andrew and Tim.
