Funeral of Juliet O'Connor to take place on Monday

Juliet, who was 73, was originally from Durham and trained as an art teacher.

In 1963 she married Dan O’Connor, a local curate, and the couple left two weeks later to live and work in India.

Returning to Britain with two sons in 1972, they came to St Andrews, where Dan was Anglican Chaplain and Juliet taught art and crafts at St Leonards. The 1980s saw the couple at an international educational federation at Selly Oak, where Dan was principal of the College of the Ascension. Here, Juliet became tutor to the Russian Orthodox archbishop of Smolensk, Patriarch Kirill – whose historic meeting with the Pope last month made the headlines.

After retirement, the O’Connors lived in Elie, Strathkinness and finally Balmullo. “As a trained counsellor, Juliet helped many people over the years but always informally, never advertising her skills,” said Dan. “A woman of profound intelligent faith, she taught me everything worth knowing.” Juliet’s funeral is at St James the Great Episcopal Church, St Catherine Street, Cupar, at 11am on March 14, with interment at Kilconquhar.