Stella Heath died on September 29, aged 89, in the 50th anniversary year of the Christian charity of which she was a key founder — Torch Trust for the Blind.
Stella, together with her husband Ron who died ten years ago, opened their Surrey home in the 1950s to young blind people from a nearby training centre. When one young woman responded to their Friday night gospel epilogues by deciding to follow Christ, Stella and Ron became concerned by the lack of Christian reading material for those with sight loss. They learned Braille and recruited volunteers to make Braille and giant print books, and later audio recordings.
The work with blind people took over her home and when it was outgrown she searched not for an office but for a larger home, and then one larger still.
