When I think of Fi I smile with fondness - I will really miss my friend. I have had the privilege of knowing Fi since 2014 when I waltzed into her life, a fresh faced and enthusiastic trainee probation officer! It took us a moment to adjust to each other but I am pleased to say that when myself and our colleague Jade returned to the office with a real Christmas tree - which we named Sid - our friendship blossomed! Fi supported me through a challenging period of my life and helped me plan my trip to South America. I was fascinated to hear of her stories from the same areas, she offered me some really valued and poignant advice and I will be forever grateful for that. It also made me realise how many different layers Fi had - she was a true onion! I am pleased that I was able to return some of this support in some of Fi's last months. Although she was in pain we had some cracking phone conversations full of laugh and love - this included making plans to go for a Toby Carvery and a pint at our local pub! I also won't forget running around Birmingham trying to locate items for Fi to make her hospital stay more comfortable. I regret none of it. Fi taught me many things but one of the most important lessons I will take is the value of kindness. She was without a doubt a deeply complex individual, but what I know for certain is that she had the purest of hearts and she really did have a lot of love to give. She had this knack of just knowing what to say to you when you were sad or down - usually it was something unconventional but it somehow managed to be the exact thing you needed to hear at that moment. What a special skill that is - and what special person Fi was. I can't express the sadness I feel that Fi's journey had to end this way. I for one will never forget her and will always be grateful for her presence in my life. I truly hope she has found the peace she so deserves. - Shannon

My friend Fiona Stevenson was born in Harlow but brought up in South Africa under apartheid and because of that and a difficult childhood escaped to the UK as soon as she could. She said people often forget that the apartheid regime did not only discriminate against black people - it discriminated against anyone who was not Afrikaans. She was forced to learn Afrikaans; it was drummed into her so hard that she could remember it even after she forgot much of the Spanish she learned later. After working in London, she went to Essex University, and afterwards became a TEFL teacher. She spent several years travelling around teaching English, including in Mexico City, Athens and Izmir in Turkey. She lost most of the sight in one eye after being mugged in Athens. She then went to London, where she shared dismal digs in Islington with Anna, who became her most long-standing friend. This was at the time when the Tories had passed legislation opposing gays and lesbians like Fiona. She had mental health issues related to the abuse she had suffered and became homeless, being rescued by Anna, who had by then moved to Norwich. Anna later moved to Birmingham, and Fiona also moved there, with both of them living in Torch Housing Co-op where I lived, although they lived there at different times. Looking for TEFL work in Birmingham, Fiona got a job at Birmingham Prison, Winson Green, where many of the inmates had English as a second language. Several prison officers told her that she would make a good probation officer, and eventually she was persuaded to take the course and get a job as a probation officer in Birmingham. She moved out of the co-op and bought a flat on the edge of the city, backing onto a large country park, where she lived for many years with her cats, who were the four-legged members of her family. When Fiona talked about “her boys”, you had to listen carefully to work out if she was referring to her male cats or the offenders she supervised. Fiona was proud of her “boys” when they improved their lives, even in small ways. At the time of her death she was still a probation officer in Birmingham, having worked there for 18 years, and when she died I got so many calls from staff that the head of probation for Birmingham asked them to stop contacting me. To go from someone who was the victim of abuse to someone who worked regularly with sex offenders took a lot of courage. Fiona was appalled by the part-privatisation of probation services. Not only did she predict that it would fail, but also in detail how it would fail, based on her own experience of working with offenders. She herself was fortunate enough to remain within the non-privatised part and was therefore spared the worst of the turmoil of privatisation and its failure. Fiona had many health problems over the years, of which the most painful was severe osteoporosis. In 2020 I was shocked to hear that she now had cancer as well. Not only that, but her best friend had cancer too, and they ended up in the same hospital. While in hospital being treated for cancer, Fiona caught coronavirus. The first I heard of this was when the oncologist phoned me on Christmas Day while I was making dinner. Sadly, with all her other health problems, Fiona was not able to fight the virus off, and she died on 8th January. Fiona will be remembered for her kindness and brilliant sense of humour. She was passionately fond of animals and was very upset at stories of animal abuse. She had a down-to-earth approach and was not afraid to speak her mind. Those who knew her will never forget her character, perseverance, commitment, sense of justice and quirky humour.

Fiona was a unique character, once you met her you would remember her. She was a character never to be forgotten. She was an intelligent, caring, sensitive, kind and funny person whose battle with health sometimes brought out her more challenging personality. I learnt a lot from Fi in my role as her Manager, the one key thing was take time to get to know someone. There is so much that may contribute to how someone presents externally, which can mask the beautiful nature and spirit of that individual. I am saddened to hear of Fiona's passing, as you would for anyone who has left a memorable foot print. I feel privileged to have worked with her and to have experienced the light and shade that she brought to the office. She did it her way. Sleep tight dear Fiona, the pain and frustrations have now gone. Rest In well deserved eternal Peace. Jacky Thompson