SOLICITOR and mediator Stephanie Hollidge-Goode died peacefully on April 2 after a long battle with cancer.

Many will have known Stephanie, 66, for her work as a solicitor in Alton, and later as a family law mediator in Hawkley, near Liss.

Others will have known her for her work with Alton College, Empshott Church, and various charities.

Stephanie graduated in 1973 with an honours degree in English and education. She then taught English at a sixth-form college.

Married to Hampshire landscape artist Mervyn Goode, who survives her, Stephanie then set up her own art gallery in Midhurst, which she ran successfully for two years.

In 1978, she studied law, just like she had always wanted, despite a school careers adviser saying: “Don’t be silly, girls don’t do that.”

Proving that girls definitely do, she joined the Alton firm of Downey & Gadban in 1983, becoming a partner in 1988. She was a member of Hampshire Incorporated Law Society throughout her career.

In Alton, Stephanie also worked with the Citizens’ Advice Bureau’s (now Citizens Advice) legal panel and became a member of the management committee of Alton CAB.

Gradually, Stephanie moved into specialising in family law and in 2000 she became one of the first family law mediators, concerned that the adversarial approach of the law to family disputes was damaging to families.

Mediation turned out to be her vocation and eventually she moved to full-time mediation from her home in Hawkley as Downie & Gadban Mediation Services, and latterly as SHG Mediation. She retired in 2015.

As well as working in law, Stephanie consistently supported Mervyn with his exhibitions and in converting his paintings into prints and other formats.

She was a governor of Alton College from 1990 to 2004 and created the Downey & Gadban Award for leadership there.

She was a trustee of Empshott Church and involved in the Friends of Empshott Church.

For many years she gave her time to the NSPCC, among other charities, including animal welfare work, and she was a lover of theatre throughout her life, appearing in productions of The Crucible and She Stoops to Conquer in her younger years.

Stephanie helped and touched the lives of many people and she will be deeply missed.