Tributes have poured in for a “lovely and caring lady” who helped put on a town’s carnival for 30 years.

Pam Griggs died in Maidstone Hospital on Sunday, April 21 from pneumonia after having a heart attack and two strokes.

The 81-year-old was best known for being a part of the Sittingbourne Carnival Association for 30 years.

She had joined the organising committee in 1991 as treasurer and then secretary before running the association as its chairwoman.

Her daughter Sue Newman remembers her mum, who lived in Sittingbourne all her life, as a “lovely lady” who would “do anything for anyone”.

The 58-year-old told KentOnline how Pam was an “excellent seamstress, cook, and mum”.

The Coombe Drive resident said: “Everyone loved Pam as she was a lovely lady, made people laugh and had a beautiful smile.

“She was also a very busy woman raising a family, working a full-time job and helping out with the carnival.

“When it was carnival season we would hardly see her and she did everything from invoices, sending invites, sorting out road closures and heaps of paperwork.

“She was very well organised and took control of it all.

“Pam loved the carnival partly because of the social aspect and also the pageantry but she hated the paperwork.

“The carnival queens and princess love her and she was in contact with so many of them, even ones from when she first started in the ‘90s.

“She made so many friends over the years through the carnival many of them kept in touch with her.”

Pam was born in number 14 Station Street and went to school at Highsted Grammar.

She would go on to work in Woolworths in Sittingbourne High Street, then as a personal assistant at Double Days in Teynham and finally at Jaques Car Parts in the Eurolink Industrial Estate where she would retire at 65.

Pam was married to Ron Griggs for 56 years after they met in a cafe in the high street.

They were married at Holy Trinity Church in 1965 and lived in Richmond Drive for 33 years before moving to a flat in Riverbourne Court in Bell Road.

Together they had two children - Sue and her brother Alan Griggs, 56.

Sue remembers holidays to the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall and says her parents made sure she and her brother got to do “everything kids should do”.

“Children back in the ‘70s did not go on holidays so we were so lucky to have parents who could take us,” she added.

“Mum was the soft parent who let us have whatever we wanted whereas Dad was the strict one.

“I remember paddling pools in the garden, day trips to Mote Park, going to Faversham pool in the summer so we had a lovely childhood.

“She used to like being by the sea and loved fish and chips which was her favourite meal.

“But she hated sand and much preferred to go to a pebble beach like Herne Bay or Minnis Bay.

“She was a great cook and we would have neighbours over every other week, she would make jam tarts, sausage rolls, egg and mayo sandwiches.

“She also made our clothes as kids as she was an excellent seamstress - so much so she made her own wedding dress and bridesmaids’ dresses for her wedding and mine.”

A matter of days before they moved into the new flat Ron died of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

His death, in March 2021, left Pam “heartbroken” and she “never really recovered and missed him a lot”, Sue said.

Pam left behind three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren who would visit her every Thursday to cook potatoes and cheese pie – a favourite of Ron’s.

The carnival was in crisis when Pam stepped down in February 2022 and she sought out a new leader for the group.

Kelly Kay stepped into the void took Pam left in February last year.

The fitness instructor then announced the event would return after a five-year break.

The carnival chairman had known Pam for around 18 months and said she wished her predecessor had got to see the parade return to the town.

She said: “I was very sad when I heard the news Pam had died as I had been in touch with her and her family.

"She was unwell before she died but it was still a shock and my first thoughts were with Pam's family.

"I have spent a long time with Pam talking about the carnival and she was just a lovely lady who was witty and had a great sense of humour.

"She made me laugh with her stories about the carnival and court which was her baby.

"The carnival was a massive part of her life and she ran it pretty much by herself. She did the community such a wonderful service over the years and was so pleased that someone was taking on the carnival and court.

“It was such a relief for her and I am so pleased I was able to make her happy. It's just such a shame she did not get to see it return."

A new award will be revealed at the carnival in Pam's name - the Pam Griggs Memorial Award for Best Association.

It will recognise other towns’ carnival groups who have had the best parade or have worked with Sittingbourne Carnival.

Sue would like as many people to come to the funeral as possible to send off her mum.

It is at 1pm on Thursday, May 16 at the Garden of England Crematorium in Bobbing.

Flowers are family only, but mourners are invited to donate to the Sittingbourne Carnival Association.

Sue says people are free to wear a colour - her mum’s favourites were lilac and pink.