Back in Boarding School, it was customary for girls to share their dreams & goals with one another.

Theo's dream was to marry a pilot, like some of the main characters in her romantic Mills and Boone books. What was very clear to all was that it would take a unique man to marry Theo. In due course, God gave her that special individual, in the person of her devoted husband, Fabrice. What his profession had in common with pilots was that both began with the letter 'p'. In addition to that, he whisked her off on many vacations visiting different parts of the world. Theo's face would light up whenever she mentioned her wonderful husband Fabrice and her lovely son Benji.

Theo also enjoyed reading Barbara Cartland love stories. She once told Janet that she dreamed of parachuting out of a plane on her wedding day - like some of the characters in novels she had read. Not sure if she managed to convince Fabrice to do that.

Theo's mum was from the Akwapim tribe, a people group of great dignity, who hail from a mountainous part of Ghana. As her parents' only daughter alongside three sons, Theo exhibited a grace and elegance inherited from both her father's side of the family and emphasised by her Akwapim mother. Remarkably, she also exhibited tomboyish tendencies - perhaps an attempt to outdo her brothers? She was fun and boisterous, enjoyed moments of hilarity and loved to tease those around her.

Once she realised I was also of Akwapim descent, Theo shared many humorous Akwapim stories and adages with me, often pausing to laugh at them before completing the narration.

Theo was the life of the party, the centre of attention.

Theo was so adept at narrating a story that she left her listeners feeling as though they had been transported into the very midst of the event being described.

She was also a very good listener who gave undivided attention to each person's story.

Theo seemed to care deeply, genuinely, about each individual's story.

She would empathise and she would laugh with you, in the right places. Theo was very much a people person.

These are the reasons Theodora Adjoa Habib-Tessier was much loved by friends and family and will be missed in a tremendous way. She was the personification of sensitivity and confidence, effortless compassion blended with strength; a perpetual optimism coupled with the ability to appreciate each day's challenges - these traits displayed in Theo gave her a unique place in the hearts of her loved ones.

Theo was special.......