Catherine Wendy Firth was born in York on 29 October 1950. Wendy's favourite subjects during her school years were always science and biology, and she went on to study biochemistry at Dundee University where she met Bob Brazenall.

After graduating, Wendy worked in cancer research in Edinburgh, until she and Bob were married in York in July 1973. She returned to Dundee to train as a teacher and worked for a year in Logie High School, which was in one of the poorest areas of Dundee – a real challenge for a young teacher.

Bob qualified as a dentist in June 1975 and he and Wendy moved south to England. They initially settled in Swindon, where Wendy worked at the Defence Academy at Shrivenham. She was part of a team who designed training for local authorities to deal with nuclear, biological and chemical incidents around the UK. Her nickname was 'War Games Wendy!'

In 1976 Wendy and Bob moved to Eltham, where Bob opened his own practice and Wendy began her dental training at Guy's Hospital in London. She graduated, with honours, in June 1981.

In 1982 they moved to Devon, where 'Lyndhurst' in Honiton High Street was their dental practice and family home for 22 years.

Wendy had three children – Ben in 1979, Emily in 1982 and Robin in 1986. She juggled the challenges of a busy working life and a growing family, until she retired from dentistry in 1989, when she could no longer work due to the effects of multiple sclerosis (MS).

In March 2004 Wendy's MS had progressed so that she required full time, professional care and in 2005 she became resident at Lucerne House in Exeter. Here, she was well cared for and still able to be involved in the lives of her family, with regular visits from Bob and the children, and her sister, Carol. There were many outings too, from children's graduations to trips to the beach, from Christmas days to Sunday roasts at home. Wendy was also well enough to be at Ben's wedding to Caroline in September last year and to celebrate her sixtieth birthday in October with a family meal at the pub.

Wendy's condition continued to deteriorate, until on 30 March this year she was admitted to the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital with pneumonia, and on 4 April she passed away peacefully.