Lavington Bowling Club life member Sandra Kitt lost her battle with cancer on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, aged 78.

Mrs Kitt (nee Moffatt) was born on April 4, 1945, in Albury.

Her husband of more than 50 years Slawko Kitt said they met through their involvement in stock car racing around the region.

"There was a function after one of the races and we kept in contact. From there it evolved into 53 years of life together," he said.

"We had the stock cars at the Albury trotting track and out at Wahgunyah and Myrtleford, and even up towards Cudgewa they had a track. All these little country towns had stock car races."

The pair married on September 4, 1971, in Canberra.

Mrs Kitt had two daughters Karen (deceased) and Debbie, before she and Mr Kitt welcomed Chris and Teena.

They took great joy in their children's sporting ventures and became volunteers with Lavington Junior Football Club, before joining Lavington Sports Club Bowling Club, which launched in 1983.

Speaking ahead of the 40^th anniversary of the club in 2023, Mrs Kitt said out of the 16 women who first joined as foundation members in 1985, only two knew how to bowl.

"Once the kids started their own adventures, they said 'Mum and Dad, you might as well do something else'," Mr Kitt said.

"That was when the bowling club started and we got involved and have been there ever since."

Mrs Kitt went on to be a huge supporter of women's bowls in the region.

She had three stints as president of the Lavington Women's Bowling Club from 2001 to 2005, 2008 to 2011 and 2014 to 2016, and served on the Riverina District Women's Bowling Association committee for 21 years.

Mrs Kitt was Riverina district president from 2009 to 2011 and 2016 to 2018, and was vice-president from 2006 to 2008, 2012 to 2015 and 2019 to 2021.

She was awarded a meritorious service badge after 10 years of continuous service on district committees.

Riverina District Women's Bowling Association head of match Sue Thurley said Mrs Kitt would be remembered for her "grace, kindness, sportsmanship and dedication to the game" and sadly missed by all in the sport across the region.

Mrs Thurley was invited to join district match committee in 2013 when Mrs Kitt was vice-president and led it the following year.

"I met Sandra in 2006 when I first started to bowl. She was on the district committee at the time in the days when everyone attended the district meetings in uniform and it was very formal and daunting to this new kid on the block," she said.

"In 2009, I asked Barbara Leddin to run an umpires course and Sandra was a candidate at the course and we really got to know each other well.

"Together we ran district events, regional playoffs and other inter-regional events. We travelled to Leeton and Gundagai and roomed together.

"Sandra was an extremely ethical person, she had a great attention to detail, she had a huge amount of knowledge and was fun to be with.

"In the words of (former Central Riverina district president) Marilyn Hillier 'she was a lady'.

"Personally I will miss Sandra and I am glad that she came into my life and became a wonderful friend."

After the death of previous district president Carolyne Coster in 2016, Mrs Kitt and the committee instigated a charity day to raise funds for the Albury Wodonga Regional Cancer Centre, which ran for three years.

She was also a driving force in the production of the Riverina district's 60-year celebrations in 2016, which culminated in an exhibition of lawn bowls memorabilia at the Albury Library Museum.

Mrs Kitt became a national umpire in 2009 and held that accreditation until 2022.

Another great passion was her church, St James Anglican in Lavington.

Mrs Kitt regularly volunteered at the Northern Albury Anglican Parish fete and gave back to the community.

"Sandra was really involved with the church and the guild ladies and was always doing things for the church," Mr Kitt said.

"She was still involved in things right up to the end.

"The church recently had a fundraiser for St Patrick's Day and she was at home quite sick, but she got the kids to help her do up all the hampers and take them to the church to be raffled.

"She couldn't be there, so she did it all at home and wanted to still be involved.

"She was a very generous and loving person and she would do anything for anybody. That's how she was."

Mr Kitt played in Lavington's grand final victory in the Ovens and Murray A3 division pennant in February, in what was the club's first season in the competition.

He said his wife had been delighted when he returned home with a premiership medal.

"When she was sick, she said for me to still go and play pennant. She didn't want me staying home looking after her, she wanted me to keeping playing pennant and that was her joy," Mr Kitt said.

Mrs Kitt is survived by her husband Slawko, children Debbie, Chris and Teena, 15 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Her funeral will be held at St Mark's Anglican Church, 319 Gulpha Street, North Albury, on Tuesday, April 2, at 10.30am.

A burial service will follow at Glenmorus Cemetery, 54 Glenmorus Street, Glenroy.