My sister Lucy Elcox, who has died aged 44 of a brain aneurysm, was a dance teacher and the administrative centre of her family business, Chiddingfold Kitchens, in Surrey.
Dance was Lucy’s first love – from the age of three she attended ballet, tap and modern classes at the Susan Robinson School of Ballet in the village of Byfleet. After school she continued her studies at the London Studio Centre, gaining a diploma in performing arts in 1999. Dancing took her around the UK in shows and pantomime, and overseas to Spain, where she led several dance productions. Lucy once performed in front of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey.
A teen romance began when she met Mat Elcox on holiday in Tenerife in 1997. A long-distance, on-off relationship ensued between Lancashire and Surrey, which was officially confirmed when Mat moved south in 2006. They married in 2011 and went on to have two sons, Oscar and Rowan.
While on honeymoon, Lucy and Mat came up with a plan to go into business together. They set up Chiddingfold Kitchens in 2011, with Lucy running the day-to-day tasks, and Mat designing, crafting, building and installing the kitchens and fitted furniture. For the past 10 years, she also taught dance to adults and children, most recently at the Guildford School of Acting and Wellington College in Berkshire, on their London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art courses.
Born in Chertsey, Surrey, to Sandra (nee Savery), and Anthony Winder, owner of a garden centre and landscaping business, Lucy went to St Peter’s Catholic school in Guildford.
A fantastic daughter, sister and friend, she will be remembered for her smile, her dancing and her love of all things good for the environment – she would encourage the boys to join in with cleaning up the beach while on holiday.
She is survived by Mat, Oscar and Rowan, her mother, Sandra, her two sisters, Rebecca and me, and by five nieces and six nephews.
