A FOUNDER of the Bright Brewery has been remembered as an active and valuable community member following her death at age 40 after battling cancer for almost a year.
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Fiona Reddaway died last Thursday at Bright, surrounded by family.
She had fallen in love with the town since she moved there with her husband, Scott Brandon, in 2002.
The couple opened Food, Wine, Friends, later selling the store in 2007, and started the brewery in 2005.
Mr Brandon said his wife was a fantastic and involved mother to their three daughters.
“The thing she found the hardest was she wouldn’t be around her daughters to see them grow up and be there for them through all the trials of school and when they get older,” he said.
Mr Brandon said the fun-loving, adventurous Ms Reddaway had lived her life to the full with a can-do approach.
“She was always questioning convention and having a bit of fun at the same time,” he said.
Mr Brandon said this was most evidenced when she was diagnosed with un-treatable stomach cancer last May.
She held firm to the belief she would beat it almost until the end.
Brewery staff paid tribute to Ms Reddaway in a statement, for her “leadership, warmth and friendship”.
“Fiona’s integral role in the establishment and continued success of Bright Brewery, and her significant contribution to the wider Alpine Shire community, will never be forgotten,” they said.
A friend, Sarah Nicholas said Ms Reddaway was always ready to share her business skills and had been instrumental in setting up a Scouts group.
“What really stood out, though, was the respect she had for her children and their ideas,” she said.
Alpine Council deputy mayor Jan Vonarx, who was on several committees with Ms Reddaway, said the community had lost a valuable member.
“She was full of really good ideas to improve Bright especially, and also the Alpine Shire,” she said.
“She’ll be sadly missed, not only for her community spirit, but her love of the area.”
Ms Reddaway was born in England in 1973, and moved to Melbourne with her mother and father, Virginia and Lawrence, and older brother, Andrew, a few years later.
She grew up in Glen Iris, attended Presbyterian Ladies College and studied business at Monash University.
Ms Reddaway is survived by her husband Scott and their daughters Tenley, 11, Jaslyn, 9, and Krista, 7.
A memorial service will be held today at 10am at the Eurobin Creek Picnic Area, followed by a gathering at Bright Brewery.